PRIME CUT FOR 'THE BUTCHER'

Martinez wore coveted No.10 shirt in Argentina

- SIMON MULLOCK

LISANDRO MARTINEZ wanted to be the next Maradona or Messi.

So the Argentine defender, nicknamed ‘The Butcher’ by his former team-mates at Ajax, takes exception when it is suggested he was brought to Manchester United by Erik ten Hag just to make mincemeat of Premier League forwards.

At just 5ft 9in, it is fair to say that Martinez’s bite is worse than his bark.

But when he was a youngster at hometown clubs Urquiza and Atletico Libertad in the city of Gualeguay, he was such a talented playmaker he wore the No.10 shirt so coveted in South America – and worn by World Cup winners Diego Maradona (below) and Lionel Messi.

“I don’t know why they called me the Butcher at Ajax,” said Martinez. “I don’t even remember who gave me the nickname.

“It must be because I’m aggressive in the way I play my game.

“I did once make a vacuum [a cut of Argentine beef] in my house, so in one way the nickname suits me!

“But the truth is that I do go to each challenge like it is going to be my last one.