Top six most brutal post-match interviews by footballers ft. Lisandro Martinez

These interviews have caused mayhem at their clubs.

Lisandro Martinez recently created controversy after directing severe criticism at the Manchester United owners through the media.

The Argentine defender told Amazon that he expected greater investment from the Red Devils’ owners after United’s 2-0 loss against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. Martinez even criticised United’s technical director Jason Wilcox in his post-match comments.

However, Martinez is not the only player who has expressed his genuine feelings right away following a poor result. Here are five more instances where athletes used the media to express their critical opinions.

Top six brutal post-match interviews by footballers

6. Charlie Austin and his Parklife rant

Players may target more than just the club; during his time at Southampton, Austin had a great post-match tirade at a referee.

During the Premier League’s pre-VAR era, Southampton and Watford drew 1-1, with Austin scoring a goal that was disallowed due to an offside in the build-up.

“It’s ridiculous, they shouldn’t be in the game,” he said. “We scored a perfectly good goal that was ruled out for offside. The officials cost us two points. They said it was offside, that is a joke.“

“People go on about VAR, they clearly need help. If this is the best, most-watched league in the world then give them all the help they need. It’s a joke.”

5. Roy Keane fiery interview against his teammates

In October 2005, Roy Keane talked with MUTV, the club’s internal TV channel, after being thrashed 4-1 by Middlesbrough. It was assumed that he would provide an analysis of the game.

Instead of offering any tactical insight, Keane took advantage of his injury-related absence from the game to trash several of his players, including Edwin van der Sar, John O’Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Darren Fletcher, Kieran Richardson, Alan Smith, and others.

When Ferguson learned, he became enraged. After forcing the entire team to watch it, Keane enquired as to whether anyone had any problems.

Wayne Rooney, 19, said that after Keane and Ferguson got into a fight, the manager leapt over his desk.

4. Niclas Füllkrug criticises West Ham teammates

With his only noteworthy contribution coming off the pitch, Füllkrug was a terrible acquisition for West Ham United – possibly the worst in the team’s history.

The German striker lost it in his post-match interview after the Hammers were only able to secure a draw with Southampton, who had already been relegated to the Championship, in April 2025.

“It is a mindset problem. Very angry today,” he began. “Not disappointed, just angry with what we did after the goal. It was difficult to bring the boys back to push up, we didn’t push up anymore.“

“We tried, but we didn’t have the ability or the motivation to push up again. I am very, very angry that we played like this. We had some minutes where we showed what we can do against an opponent like that at home.

“We showed the possession we can have, that we can go in behind and have the chances to score again. But the motivation, sorry we were sh*t and I’m very angry.

“It is not the first time where we score a goal and then the next goal kick we just shoot the ball long. We don’t try to play football anymore. We don’t push up anymore, we just sink and that’s not the way we want to play.”

3. Mohamed Salah interview against Liverpool

Mohamed Salah has a history of using the media to attempt to achieve his goals on two separate occasions. He originally said he was “probably more out than in” after scoring twice in a 3-2 victory against Southampton in 2024 while vying for a new contract.

However, Mohamed Salah again told the media that he had been “thrown under the bus” a year after his form had collapsed.

“It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.”

2. Jude Bellingham tussle with Tuchel

A player seldom challenges a manager during an ongoing FIFA World Cup campaign, but this summer, Jude Bellingham and England national team head coach Thomas Tuchel looked to be at odds.

Tuchel was not pleased with what he witnessed after a 2-1 victory over Norway in the World Cup quarterfinals. Given the nature of the English media, he chose to offer those remarks to Bellingham without providing any background.

It makes sense that the Madrid midfielder did not give his manager’s alleged critique much thought.

“All the players have put in a tough shift. So my thoughts and appreciation go out to the players out there who put in a great shift again,“ Bellingham said.

“Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, )Martin) Odegaard, (Antonio) Nusa, (Alexander) Sorloth. That’s not an easy team to play against. So, I think we’ve tried to create a positive environment.

“You’re not going to win every game, popping the ball and making a thousand passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we’ve done that again tonight.”

1. Lisandro Martinez calling out United director

Following a 2-0 Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid, Lisandro Martínez didn’t hold back on Manchester United’s management, specifically targeting director of football Jason Wilcox. He claimed the team did not adequately bolster its roster during the summer transfer window.

“We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well,“ Martinez said. “Atlético have an amazing team and they deserve to win today.”

“But I expect more (investment). 100%. I expect more from our technical director (Jason Wilcox). I have to be honest, as players we have to do more, but it is also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night.”

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