Anthony Martial has denied that he refused to be a part of Manchester United’s squad for the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday.
Manchester United were without a number of players for the trip to Villa Park, with Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo missing through injury, while Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay were unavailable through suspension.
Those absences saw Ralf Rangnick only able to name eight substitutes on the bench, with Anthony Martial – who has expressed his desire to leave the club – a notable absentee.
A Bruno Fernandes brace gave United a two goal lead against Villa, only for goals from Jacob Ramsey and Philippe Coutinho to earn a point for the Villains.
Speaking after the game, Rangnick said that the French forward ‘didn’t want to be in the squad’ for the trip to the Midlands.
“Yes, he didn’t want to be in the squad,” Rangnick said in his post-match press conference.
“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.”
However, taking to social media, the forward denied such claims.
“I will never refuse to play a match for Man United,” Martial said on Instagram.
“I’ve been here for seven years and I never disrespected and I never will disrespect the club and the fans.”
The 26-year-old has been linked with the likes of Sevilla, Barcelona, Juventus and Newcastle.
