Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted he had no right to stop Anthony Martial from leaving the club’s pre-season to return to France for the birth of his child.
Martial’s future at United is currently in doubt with the player’s agent revealing his wishes to leave due to a lack of playing time under Mourinho.
The Frenchman had initially been listed on United’s website as available for their pre-season match against AC Milan on Wednesday evening but was absent for the game which the Red Devils won on penalties after returning to Paris.
And United boss Mourinho has revealed he found out about Martial’s departure a few days before the game and had no issues with the decision.
“I found out that he was going to Paris when he told me,” he told reporters at a press conference (via Manchester United’s official website.
“It was three days ago.
“You know, when it is personal reasons, everyone analyses that the way they think is the correct way and, when a man is going to be a father, in this case it’s the second time that he is going to be a father, and he decides that it is very important for him to go, I think nobody has the right to stop him to go.”
Martial joined United in 2015 under Louis van Gaal and enjoyed a good debut season in England. But Mourinho’s arrival a year later saw the Frenchman’s development falter due to rotation with Marcus Rashford and the eventual signing of Alexis Sanchez.
Valencia and Matic injuries add to Mourinho woes
With Martial already absent from the squad, United boss Mourinho also confirmed both Antonio Valencia and Nemanja Matic will most likely be absent for the rest of the tour of the United States.
Speaking to the press after United’s penalty shoot-out win over AC Milan, Mourinho said: “Antonio Valencia is injured, and I think he will be injured for the beginning of Premier League season.”
And he also confirmed to Manchester United’s website that Matic, who linked up with the squad late due to his World Cup commitments, sustained an injury that makes him doubtful for the club’s next match against Liverpool on Saturday.
Following their game against Liverpool, United then take on Real Madrid in the final match of their US tour before travelling to Germany to face Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
The Red Devils kick off the Premier League against Leicester City on Friday August 10, a fixture that the manager has lamented on saying he prefers to play on Sunday rather than Friday.
Mourinho is under a lot of pressure to win a trophy next season especially after he finished empty handed last season, losing the FA cup final to Chelsea. The club finished second in the Premier league but were 15 points but were blown away by neighbors Manchester City who finished 15 points ahead of them.
Mourinho has had a relatively, low profile transfer period compared to his rivals. He has signed goalkeeper Lee Grant, who is expected to play back-up to De Gea and Romero. Diogo Dalot and Brazilian Midfielder Fred are the only outfield players to have been signed.
on the other hand, rivals Liverpool have splashed money on four marquee signings headlined by the recent arrival of goalkeeper Alison Becker for 67 million pounds. Keita, Fabinho and Shaqiri will also play at Anfield next season meaning the title challenge maybe tighter than even before and Mourinho may even struggle to finish in the top four.