Lisandro Martinez already has his sights set on winning a trophy with Manchester United – just days after lifting the World Cup.
Martinez became only the fifth player to win the World Cup as a United player after Argentina's epic penalty shot-out win over France on Sunday in Qatar. The defender was among the victorious Argentina squad greeted by thousands of fans at an emotional homecoming in Buenos Aires yesterday as they paraded the World Cup trophy.
But no sooner had Martinez lifted the biggest prize in football, he turned his focus to helping United win a first trophy since 2017 – their longest wait for silverware for four decades.
United midfielder Scott McTominay revealed he messaged team-mate Martinez after Sunday's remarkable final and the centre-back said he was already looking at fresh glory with his club.
“I messaged Lisandro the other day and said congratulations,” said McTominay. “He said ‘we go for the next one’. He’s just won a World Cup, so that shows the mentality that is in the group.
“Success will always be winning trophies and that’s the most important thing at this football club. With the manager that we’ve got now, we’ve got a really good opportunity to start that journey, especially this year.
“We’ve got a really good chance to implement ourselves and really start pushing. I feel like this is the year where we can go for it and that’s firmly reiterated by all the coaches in the squad. They firmly believe that.”
The last trophy United won was the Europa League, under Jose Mourinho, five years ago, with McTominay determined to end that long wait under new boss Erik ten Hag.
“Whenever a new manager comes in, the people in the stadium, especially with the manager we’ve got now, are going to be so happy and are going to love seeing the football we’re playing,” said McTominay.
"We’ve had some amazing games at Old Trafford this year, where they literally are the heartbeat of the entire place.
“I feel like the manager and the coaches are the ones saying give the crowd what they want, give the people something to lift them off their seats.
“The improvement we’ve seen in a lot of us has been good. For us, it’s important we keep listening. Game by game we’ve got to take it as it comes and keep pushing forwards.”
