Manchester United legend still believes in Lisandro Martínez despite his height

Wayne Rooney was interviewed yesterday with Times Sport where he reflected on the current Manchester United squad. He talked about Casemiro, Erik ten Hag, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Marcus Rashford, among other topics. However, he highlighted the signing of Lisandro Martínez and defended him from all the criticism he has received regarding his height.

The Red Devils’ top goalscorer in history thinks people need to be patient with him: “I think he has the potential to be a success. What he needs is for his team to be dominating possession and playing and playing high up the pitch, so he can use his reading of the game and footballing skills. The quicker ten Hag can impose his structure and style, the easier for Martínez it will become”.

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He even compared him with other great short defenders in recent years: “If you put Marínez in the Manchester City team, there wouldn't be any questions about him. Fernandinho thrived as a centre-back for City at times, and Javier Mascherano was brilliant there for Barcelona, and neither is he very tall”.

As Wayne Rooney said, Manchester United fans should be patient. He has just arrived in the Premier League, but his quality is undeniable. He is a frequent player in Argentina’s national team and has won everything with Ajax alongside Erik ten Hag. The Dutch manager personally chose him from all his former Ajax squad to join him in this new adventure.

Other short defenders

Football has proved throughout history that you don’t have to be a big and tall centre-half in order to be one of the best in that position. Players like Carles Puyol, Fabio Cannavaro, and Franco Baresi, were the first of their kind. In recent years, Cesar Azpilicueta, Nathan Aké, and Thiago Silva have all thrived while being under six feet tall.