Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones has claimed that his former teammate, Anthony Martial, did not have the most professional approach to time-keeping.
The two players spent eight years as teammates, as Martial joined the club in 2015 and Jones eventually left in 2023.
The Frenchman followed the English defender out the door a year later as he left at the end of his contract and signed for Greek side AEK Athens.
Martial showed glimpses of his huge potential during his time at Old Trafford but often left fans exasperated by his lack of work effort and constant injury issues.
Speaking to SPORTbible (via The Metro), Jones added another complaint against the Frenchman’s professionalism.
When he was asked who was always late for training he retorted, “how long have we got?” before adding, “Anthony Martial… always late. Yeah, always late – training, meetings, bus.”
The interviewer then suggested there must have been financial repercussions for the player’s tardiness he claimed, “yeah, yeah, yeah. I don’t think it bothered him too much!”
He was then asked if the 28 year old would have been the most fined player in the squad he responded, “he’ll be up there, he’ll be up there.”
The suggestion that being late on a regular basis from one of the senior players in the group highlights the dramatic drop in standards that have infected the club since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.
It is also galling to understand that Martial lasted nine years at the club in spite of constant disciplinary problems, to go alongside weak performances.
Erik ten Hag clearly tried to enhance standards in this regard and it is something that new manager Ruben Amorim will be determined to weed out as soon as possible.
Martial has been in decent form for his new side this season, scoring three goals and providing one assist in seven matches in Greece.
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
