The agent of Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has revealed that his client was hurt by the decision to take the No.9 jersey away from him.
Having lived up to his price-tag and expectations last season following his move from Monaco, Martial appeared to thrive on the pressure on his shoulders.
However, he was forced to give up the No.9 jersey this past summer when Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined the club and has struggled to replicate the form he showed last year.
His representative has now revealed how the decision to take the number off Martial has affected him, and it may well go some way to explaining what’s behind his dip in form so far this season.
“I am not going to lie about it, it hurt him when Manchester United took the No. 9 jersey off him. He was surprised by it and he was disappointed for a few days,” Philippe Lamboley told RMC.
“But he is a professional. He knew that he had to fight back.
“Personally, I did not accept the decision, which I thought was disrespectful and misplaced. I let the United hierarchy know how I felt. You do not do things like that. We have turned the page, but not forgotten about it.”
Martial now wears the No.11 jersey at United, but has only been able to contribute two goals and two assists in 12 appearances in all competitions so far this season.
Lamboley went on to insist that his client has a good working relationship with Jose Mourinho and expects the Portuguese tactician to get the best out of him again.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that the decision to take away the prestigious number from Martial has had a negative impact, and coupled with his history at Real Madrid and Chelsea in terms of losing the dressing room, it arguably wasn’t such a smart move from Mourinho with regards to what it would do to the confidence and attitude of a 20-year-old who had such a major impact last year.