Rio Ferdinand thinks the Man Utd board need to intervene after Anthony Martial claimed Ralf Rangnick wasn’t telling the truth about his refusal to play against Aston Villa.
Bruno Fernandes’s brace put the visitors on course for victory at Villa Park on Saturday, only for Jacob Ramsey to pull one back and substitute Phillipe Coutinho to seal a 2-2 draw.
Man Utd had two goalkeepers among their eight substitutes – one short of the number allowed – and Rangnick said he wanted Martial to fill that spot.
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But the German claimed that the 26-year-old did not want to travel to Birmingham as he pushes for a January exit, with Sevilla one of the clubs linked.
“Yes, he didn’t want to be in the squad,” Rangnick said at the weekend.
“He would have been in the squad normally but he didn’t want to and that’s the reason why he was not travelling with us yesterday.”
But Man Utd striker Martial denied those claims on Instagram, he said: “I will never refuse to play a match for Man United.
“I’ve been here for seven years and I never disrespected and I never will disrespect the club and the fans.”
The situation has left Ferdinand confused with the former Man Utd defender demanding the Red Devils “hierarchy” come out and “absolutely put this to bed”.
“Do you know what? That situation there is a perfect example for the hierarchy of that football club,” Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel.
“If Martial isn’t telling the truth there – and I’m not casting any dispersions – but if he’s not telling the truth when he says he’s never refused to play or disrespected the club, if he did refuse then someone at that football club needs to come out and absolutely put this to bed.
“They need to give pure clarity, put a line in the sand, put a flag down and say, ‘this is us and this is where we’re at’.
“At the moment, Rangnick has come out with what he said and Martial responded and basically said the manager is lying.
“Someone better come out today or tomorrow and say something. You can’t have a player coming out and belittling what you say. No chance.
“He needs to get shut down if it’s true. If Rangnick is right, there’s no way any player should be allowed to speak like that.
“I don’t understand it. Manchester United can’t allow players to talk like that. There’s a truth and a false in this situation and I want to know.”
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