Martinez

Lisandro Martinez’s future in doubt at Manchester United, Newcastle United‘s Bazoumana Toure eyed by Manchester United and Arsenal, Getafe interested in free agent Jadon Sancho.

Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez’s future at Manchester United is uncertain following his criticism of the club’s hierarchy, with doubts the 28-year-old’s contract will be extended beyond its current expiry next summer. (Sky Sports), external

Manchester United and Arsenal are keeping a close eye on Newcastle United‘s Ivory Coast attacker Bazoumana Toure, despite the 20-year-old only having moved to St James’ Park this summer. (CaughtOffside), external

Getafe are interested in signing England winger Jadon Sancho on a free transfer and are looking at ways they can meet the 26-year-old’s salary demands. (DAZN, via Mundo Deportivo) , external

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho says Brazil striker Endrick does not need to leave the Spanish club on loan in January and believes the 20-year-old will be a “huge success” at the La Liga side. (TNT Sports Brazil, via the Athletic), external

Former Wolves and Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira is targeting a return to management in the Premier League amid being linked with struggling Fulham. (Talksport), external

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler is the standout candidate among current Premier League head coaches should Manchester United‘s board choose to move on from Michael Carrick. (The Sun), external

Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte and ex-Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann also have admirers among Manchester United‘s bosses. (Talksport), external

Liverpool have stepped-up their pursuit of Mexico midfielder Gilberto Mora, 18, and hope to complete a deal for the Club Tijuana player in January. (Teamtalk), external

Leeds fear they may lose Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic, 23, next summer, with Bayern Munich among the clubs interested. (Football Insider), external

Barcelona are tracking Germany under-21 striker Nicolo Tresoldi, 22, who scored a hat-trick for Club Brugge against Inter Milan on Tuesday. (Fichajes), external

Manchester United beaten 2-0 at Atletico Madrid, but defender Lisandro Martinez slams club’s failure to invest in team.

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez blasted the club’s board for a perceived lack of investment this summer, after the team were beaten by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

United are winless in five games across all competitions after the 2-0 defeat in the Spanish capital and have made their worst start to a league season in 40 years.

“Really poor,” Martinez told Amazon Prime when asked about the team’s performance against Atletico.

“I have to control myself a lot but sometimes is a reflection… [or] mirror of how our club is at the moment.”

Martinez said he “100 percent” expected more investment in the squad over the summer after United finished third in the Premier League last season and returned to Europe’s top competition.

“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 these kind of nights,” he continued.

Martinez said last season the club had “created the base to create an amazing team”, but they did not follow through.

Pressure is mounting on coach Michael Carrick after five games without a win, but Martinez suggested sacking the Englishman was not the way forward.

“You can’t keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about other areas? I can’t say more,” said Martinez.

“Tonight it is easy to say the coach [is to blame], easy to say the players, but also we have to see other areas.”

Red Devils minority owner Jim Ratcliffe was at the stadium to watch the league-phase defeat by last season’s semi-finalists.

Man United spent around 140 million pounds ($185m) this summer on midfielders Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, but fans were upset the club did not reinforce other positions, including left-back and striker.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Carrick said he had not heard Martinez’s comments and so could not judge them.

“I think it’s a little bit on the emotions of the game as well, of coming here and being disappointed not to get something from the game,” said the coach.

Former Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney said Martinez’s criticism was excessive.

“I think he’s maybe gone a bit too far, and that should have stayed internal,” Rooney told Amazon Prime.

“You can clearly see that he cares and he wants the club to invest more money in more players, and to do that he’s probably one of the players who’ll be out the door if I’m being honest.”

Halle Berry has several loved ones in her corner amid her contentious custody case with ex-husband Olivier Martinez, who accused the Oscar winner of physically abusing their 12-year-old son. Among the actor’s supporters is Nahla Aubry, the 18-year-old daughter Berry has kept largely out of the public eye.

Aubry, whom Berry shares with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, spoke against her former stepfather Martinez and in support of her mother in a declaration filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. In his request for a restraining order filed last week, Martinez accused Berry of physically abusing their son, Maceo, “putting her hands around his neck, and choking him” during a Sept. 26 incident. Martinez was granted the restraining order and is seeking sole legal and physical custody. Nahla Aubry said in her declaration, obtained by The Times, that Martinez’s allegations left her “shocked, very sad, and very upset.”

“The statements Olivier claims my mom made are wholly inconsistent with the values she has taught me my entire life,” Aubry said. She added elsewhere in her declaration: “I have never witnessed her act violently toward anyone.”

A legal representative for Martinez did not immediately respond on Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.

In her declaration, Aubry spoke about her experiences splitting time between her mother and father’s homes amid their separation and and said her mother “consistently provided me with stability, support, guidance” and that she “never heard” the actor speak negatively about her family or her ex-boyfriend. Aubry said she lived with her brother for most of her life and has “never heard my mom say anything about Olivier” to her brother, contradicting claims Martinez raised in his request for a protective order.

Martinez pointed to an alleged 2023 incident when Berry is accused of telling their son, then 9, that his father is “ ‘a white b— trying to rob a Black woman’ due to child support issues,” according to court documents. She added that Berry has “always” encouraged her children to keep “loving relationships with our fathers.” Aubry also said in her declaration that while Berry can be strict, she is also “warm, supportive and deeply involved in our lives.”

“I have never witnessed her act violently toward anyone, however, I do remember Olivier beating up my father in our driveway when I was little,” she said, referring to a 2012 brawl between Gabriel Aubry and Martinez.

In addition to denying the claims of abuse against her mother, Aubry spoke about her stepbrother’s behavior, writing in his declaration he can be “very impulsive” and “often acts without thinking and then refuses to take responsibility for his actions.” Aubry noted she last spoke to her brother a day after the alleged September incident and that he did not seem upset, and that the current restraining order prohibits her from contacting her brother.

Berry’s fiancé, Van Hunt, and her attorneys also filed declarations in favor of the “Monster’s Ball” actor. Attorney Marina Z. Beck in her declaration accused Martinez of refusing to provide information to Berry about their son and his education, of interfering with their son’s therapy and of refusing to follow therapist recommendations. The court documents also include screenshots of text message exchanges between Berry and Martinez and an email from their son’s school about his disruptive behavior days after the alleged incident.

Berry and Martinez were married from 2013 from 2015. Their divorce finally ended in August 2023, when they agreed to joint custody of their son and Berry agreed to pay Martinez $8,000 a month in child support.

In his request for a restraining order, Martinez also asked that Berry refrain from drinking or partaking in other substances during her visitation time and asked that she complete sobriety testing “before, during and after” her visitation, according to court documents. The judge denied those sobriety testing requests until a further hearing for the order on Oct. 16.

Patrick Baghdaserians, an attorney for Martinez, told The Times last week the welfare and safety of Berry and Martinez’s child remains paramount.

Halle Berry is speaking out against her ex-husband Olivier Martinez, after he accused the actor of physically abusing their 12-year-old son and was granted a restraining order against the Oscar winner.

Marina Beck, an attorney for the 60-year-old “Catwoman” and “John Wick: Chapter 3” star, in a statement downplayed Martinez’s protective order, granted Thursday by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

“To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement,” Beck said, later accusing Martinez of repeatedly violating court orders and interfering with “necessary therapeutic and educational interventions to the detriment” of his son with Berry.

The attorney added: “In a way, today’s filing is not entirely unexpected from an individual with a well-documented history of erratic, possessive and violent behavior. Fortunately, Halle is used to this kind of outrageous conduct from Mr. Martinez and, while she is deeply saddened, she will not allow it to deter her from fighting for Maceo’s best interests and providing him with the love and support he needs.”

Patrick Baghdaserians, an attorney for Martinez, did not comment on the statement from Berry’s legal team, but said the welfare and safety of Berry and Martinez’s child remains paramount.

According to the order reviewed by The Times, Berry is prohibited from contacting Martinez, 60, and their son Maceo beyond the terms of her August 2023 split-custody agreement. The judge also modified the actor’s visitation time, limiting her hours with her son to Mondays, Tuesdays and weekends between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Berry and Martinez wed in France in July 2013, shortly after confirming they were expecting a baby together. They welcomed their son in October. Berry shares a daughter with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry. The actor was also previously married to ex-MLB pro David Justice and singer-actor Eric Benét and is currently engaged to musician Van Hunt.

Berry filed to divorce Martinez in October 2015. Their divorce finally came to an end after eight years in August 2023, when they agreed to joint custody of their son and Berry agreed to pay Martinez $8,000 a month in child support. The “Monster’s Ball” actor was also ordered at the time to also pay Martinez 4.3% of any income she receives above $2 million.

Martinez’s request for a domestic violence restraining order centered on an alleged Sept. 26 incident involving Berry and their son. Martinez alleged the actor “physically abused our son, Maceo, by jumping on him, putting her hands around his neck, and choking him.”

The financial terms of their divorce also appeared to be central to another alleged incident in 2023, when Berry allegedly told Maceo, then 9, that his father is “ ‘a white b— trying to rob a Black woman’ due to child support issues,” the request said. Martinez’s filing included a declaration of Berry’s alleged history of abuse, screenshots of his text conversation with Berry following the alleged September incident in which she appears to have written, “I feel terrible about what happened last night.”

Martinez requested sole legal and physical custody of Maceo. He also asked that Berry refrain from drinking or partaking in other substances during her visitation time and asked that she complete sobriety testing “before, during and after” her visitation, according to court documents. The judge denied those sobriety testing requests until a further hearing for the order on Oct. 16.

Berry has been a vocal supporter for victims of domestic violence and a volunteer at the Jenesse Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to domestic violence intervention and prevention. The actor has also spoken about her own experience with domestic violence growing up. She recalled her father’s abusive treatment of her mother during a gala in 2015.

“She stayed for too long and her children, my sister and I, saw far too much and I’ve suffered the damage of being a child of domestic violence,” Berry said at the time.

Former Times staff writer Jonah Valdez contributed to this report.

Germany forward Kevin Schade wanted by Liverpool, while Erling Haaland and Phil Foden are among the Manchester City players drawing interest from Europe’s top clubs.

Liverpool have emerged as genuine contenders to sign Brentford and Germany forward Kevin Schade, 24, who has also been linked with Manchester United. (Teamtalk), external

Barcelona have confirmed that they tried but failed to sign Argentina and Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez, 29, in the summer. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external

Real Madrid and Barcelona have both been circling Norway and Manchester City forward Erling Haaland, 26, and will be ready to pounce if the opportunity arises. (Sun), external

German giants Bayern Munich would move for England midfielder Phil Foden, 26, if he becomes available for a move from Manchester City. (Teamtalk), external

Italy and Atalanta defender Giorgio Scalvini, 22 would like to experience playing abroad at some stage in his career, with Newcastle and Chelsea having already expressed their interest. (Football Italia), external

Nottingham Forest, Roma and Napoli target Dodo, 27, looks set to secure a move away from Fiorentina in Janaury, with several clubs interested in the Brazilian full-back. (La Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Brighton and Gambia winger Yankuba Minteh, 22, is still keen to join Liverpool after a summer move failed to materialise. (GiveMeSport), external