Man Utd flop Anthony Martial banished by Mexican club Monterrey as French forward pays the price for petulant substitution strop

Martial became the most expensive teenager in world football when moving to Old Trafford from Monaco for £36 million ($48m) in 2016. He spent nine years tied to the Red Devils, taking in 317 appearances and scoring 90 goals. More was expected from him in England, with a gradual tumble down the pecking order at United being taken.

That led to a loan spell at Sevilla being taken in during the 2021-22 campaign, before leaving on a permanent basis for AEK Athens in 2024 as a free agent. Just one season was spent in Greece, with the opportunity to head for Mexico being embraced in September 2025.

A slow start was made to life at Monterrey, with just one goal being recorded through 20 appearances in all competitions. Martial’s struggles for form have attracted criticism from the Mexican press.

His place in the Monterrey side is already under serious threat, with a place on the bench being taken up for a recent meeting with Chivas de Guadalajara. Martial is reportedly of the opinion that he should have figured in that contest.

TUDN claims that the 30-year-old forward reacted angrily to not being introduced when Monterrey were trailing by three goals. Instead of seeing his number called, youngster Joaquin Moxica was introduced in a final change with 16 minutes remaining.

Martial is said to have “lost his temper” at being overlooked by head coach Nicolas Sanchez, as he remained an unused substitute. Said meltdown is said to have been spotted and noted by coaching staff.

He has now been punished, with TUDN reporting that Martial has been told to stay away from training with the rest of the first-team squad. That enforced exiling will last for one full week, at which point the situation will be reassessed.

Martial signed a two-year contract when linking up with Monterrey, but it remains to be seen whether said terms will be honoured. Time is still on his side when it comes to making the desired impact, but an apology will need to be offered to any of those whom he has offended with his antics.

Martial, who has 30 senior international caps to his name, is in danger of seeing his stock slump to the point that finding another suitor may prove difficult. His ability has never been in doubt, but attitude questions have hung over his head for some time.

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