Revealed: Lisandro Martinez told me to sign him, says Erik ten Hag

Lisandro Martinez signed for Manchester United in the summer for a fee of around £50 million, and the club have not looked back since.

Martinez has become a fan-favourite under Erik ten Hag in his short time at the club so far, cementing himself both among the Old Trafford faithful and in Ten Hag’s starting XI.

His story joining the club is no simple one, with United having multiple bids rejected for the player before their third bid was eventually accepted after CEO Richard Arnold travelled to Amsterdam personally in order to get the deal over the line.

However, as revealed by Erik ten Hag in a recent interview, that is not the full story.

Martinez, earlier in the summer, was being hotly pursued by London club Arsenal, who were looking for a versatile defender who could play both at centre-back and left-back, as well as step into midfield when needed.

The Gunners had three bids rejected for the now World Cup winner, with Erik ten Hag detailing that while this was going on, Martinez called him to say he wants to join United instead.

“Whether I found it difficult to get Martinez away from Ajax? I had such a good time there, how we experienced the process together,” Ten Hag told Dutch outlet Voetbal International.

“From scratch, we brought Ajax back to the European top. That project has been so dear to me.

“But Martinez himself wanted to leave Ajax anyway. If we hadn’t taken him, he would have gone to Arsenal. They wanted him anyway. He was top priority there.”

Ten Hag went on to explain that Martinez called him and told him that despite the fact that he could join Arsenal, Martinez wanted the Dutch coach to sign him for Manchester United instead.

‘Licha called me at one point: ‘Trainer, listen, I’m leaving Ajax anyway. I can sign with Arsenal, but if you want me, I’m going to Manchester United’.”

This, according to Ten Hag himself, is what triggered his desire to sign his former player for his current club.

“Then I thought: I shouldn’t shoot myself and United in the foot either. He really hadn’t stayed in Amsterdam, (staying at Ajax) was out of the question. Then we struck (a deal), and it all worked out.”

One thing is for sure: The events that have so far unfolded after that phone call have worked out well for all parties involved.