Sir Alex Ferguson spoke personally with Lisandro Martinez to congratulate him on winning the World Cup with Argentina, the Manchester United defender has confirmed.
Martinez was part of the Argentine squad which won the trophy in December, as the South American nation were crowned champions of the world for the first time since 1986. Martinez was rotated in the tournament, with Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi the first-choice Argentina partnership.
Versatile defender Martinez has instantly become a fan-favourite at United, with the Old Trafford faithful regularly chanting "Argentina! Argentina!" in a show of appreciation for his performances. Martinez has established himself as a leader in the defence of Erik ten Hag’s new-look team.
Despite fierce competition for central defensive starting spots at the club alongside Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, the Argentine has always been one of the first names on the team sheet throughout the campaign – justifying his inclusion with a string of impressive displays.
In an interview with Argentine outlet TyC Sports, Martinez explained that former United boss Ferguson contacted him after the tournament to congratulate him on winning the World Cup. It was an indication of Ferguson’s continued status away from direct first-team affairs at the club.
Martinez, who joined United from Ajax last summer, added of how quickly he has settled in at Old Trafford: "For me, it is enormous pride to come to the best league in the world, to play for Manchester United and for people to identify with me, to show me their love.
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"For me, it is enormous pride and it is mutual affection. It's incredible that in this country they chant 'Argentina, Argentina' – it is an extra motivation for me. They love my way of playing, I always give my best, you can see that they can identify with that."
Former United defender Rio Ferdinand recently explained on FIVE when asked if the Argentine was the best central defender in the Premier League : "On form right now, I don't think there's really much argument coming from anywhere else. I think he's dominant, he's aggressive, he's a leader, communicates well, shows character, and he's there in big moments.
"But I was one of the ones questioning, 'Is he physically gonna be able to compete here if teams isolate him if teams isolate him?'. And that's where Erik ten Hag has been confident in tactically being able to keep teams away from being able to dominate enough possession to isolate someone like Martinez."
