Lisandro Martinez ‘begged’ Erik ten Hag to join Manchester United, hijack Arsenal’s bid, reveals Dutch football coach

Dutch football coach Erik ten Hag has made a shocking revelation that Argentine player Lisandro Martinez called him and offered to join Manchester United. Martinez, 24, who helped his team to win the FIFA World Cup on Sunday against France in Qatar plays for the team Manchester United at centre-back position.

The United manager Hag shared the phone call details on which Martinez had a deal with him. “Licha [Martinez] Called me at one point and said: ‘Boss, listen, I’m leaving Ajax. I can sign for the team Arsenal but if you want me I can come to Manchester United!,” revealed Hag in conversation with the Dutch magazine Voetbal International Christmas edition.
Martinez was among six players, who joined Manchester United over the summer. He showed a great on-field partnership with Raphael Varane at centre-backs, making it the favourite duo of manager Hag.


Hag also revealed that the FIFA winner explained to him about Arsenal’s interest in signing him up. “However, Martinez begged Ten Hag to make a counter offer so that he could move to Manchester United, instead of Arsenal,” Hag added. Over Martinez's departure from Ajax, Ten Hag said, It was Martinez himself, who wanted to leave Ajax.

Earlier this year, chief executive of Ajax, Edwin van der Sar, revealed that Arsenal had approached them for Martinez, but they preferred keeping the player than negotiating.

FAQs:

1. When did Lisandro Martinez join Manchester United?
   Manchester United agreed on a deal with Ajax for signing Lisandro Martinez on July 16, 2022. Following this, Lisandro signed a 5-year contract with the club.
2. How much did United pay Lisandro?
   Manchester United signed the Ajax defender on €57.37m (£48.3m) for a period of 5 years.