Anthony Martial’s has reportedly been dumped by his wife as his nightmare time both and off the pitch continues.
The forward has struggled to find any form on a loan spell at Spanish club Sevilla whom he joined for the remainder of the season in January from Manchester United. A report in the Daily Star now claims that Martial has been dumped by his wife Melanie Da Cruz.
It was the Frenchman's agent that convinced him of the project at Sevilla but that plan has gone from "bad to worse", as outlined this week by Spanish media. Following on from his lack of impact, Martial will not be retained by Sevilla – who will allow him to re-join United this summer.
Martial’s wife Da Cruz – a French TV star who has a four-year-old child Swan with the footballer - made an Instagram post saying “love wasn’t enough”. Posting in French, she spoke of her “pain” and said: “Sometimes to win a race you have to stop running.”
The report cites a source close to the couple as stating: “Things aren’t going brilliantly for Martial on the pitch and it looks like life at home has been rocky too. Melanie’s statement came as a shock to her fans and it’s probably the icing on the cake after a bad few months for Anthony. They’ve had their struggles. All they care about going forward is the well-being of their son and raising him amicably.”
Martial's agency has been approached for comment.
The two met in 2016 when Martial split with Samantha Jacquelinet, with whom he has two children. In 2019, it was reported that Martial had an affair with French model Malika Semichi, when Da Cruz was heavily pregnant.
In seven league appearances afforded to the United loanee so far at the Spanish club, the forward has failed to score and has looked less and less threatening with every week. He has provided one assist but it has been a hugely underwhelming impact at Sevilla for the Frenchman, especially in the context of plenty of fanfare regarding his arrival in La Liga.
Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui said this week of the striker's situation: "I have to help him to achieve his best version. He has to do his part and adapt to what we ask of him." The former Spain and Real Madrid boss did not sound upbeat on the player and it was striking that he alluded to his lack of form.
Martial appeared as an 82nd minute substitute in United's 1-0 win over West Ham in late January prior to his exit, but that was his first appearance for the club since a two-minute cameo off the bench against Arsenal on December 2. Having lost prominence under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Martial failed to convince Ralf Rangnick that he was an option for the starting line-up.
The 26-year-old has only scored two goals this season across his two clubs – an early-season Premier League strike in a draw against Everton in October and netted for Sevilla against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League. He had fallen behind a host of attacking players in United's squad, with the emergence of Anthony Elanga – following the signings of Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo – pushing him further down the pecking order.
Once world football's most expensive teenager when he joined United from Monaco in 2015, he has failed to deliver on his early promise – although he had scored a more than respectable 79 goals in 269 games for United.
