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Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani suggests £17m Aston Villa player is an absolute clown, he’s not a fan
Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani is clearly not impressed with Aston Villa’s World Cup winner Emi Martinez.
Martinez made a hugely impressive save from Randal Kolo Muani in stoppage time in extra time with the score at 3-3 to keep his World Cup dreams alive.
Then, he saved Kingsley Coman’s penalty in the shoot-out to help his side get over the line, with plenty of gamesmanship before all four spot-kicks.
The antics around the penalties have caused one debate, and Martinez has continued to attract headlines for his celebrations.
Radrizzani mocks Martinez
Radrizzani to a tweet which asked how to describe Martinez after he mocked Kylian Mbappe during Argentina’s celebrations.
Martinez also caught the attention for how he celebrated his Golden Glove award and Radrizzani made it clear what he thinks of the man.
He suggested that he thinks Martinez is a clown and that his actions do not sit right with him at all.
It appears that Martinez is not the most popular man at Elland Road, with Jesse Marsch writing after the final that he did not think the goalkeeper had an especially good World Cup.
He said: “In talking about doing what you have to to get a result, we should probably chat about Emi Martinez.
“I’m talking from experience here because not so long ago, he played for Aston Villa against my Leeds team and used a few antics to work the clock and subdue the crowd. I mean, it was infuriating, but that’s the point, right?
“His mind games in penalty shootouts seem to give him an edge — and he knows they give him an edge. The gains he gets from those add to the fact that fundamentally he’s a big goalkeeper. In reality, the football goal is massive and you should score just about every penalty you take. But he has this way of making it look and feel very small.
“I actually don’t think Martinez had a brilliant tournament as a whole but to take his save from Randal Kolo Muani near the end of extra time as an example, that ability to make big plays in big moments is exactly where this Argentina team are at with their mentality.”
Marsch was more complimentary about Martinez than Radrizzani, but his praise clearly came with caveats, which may add some spice to the meeting between the sides on 13 January at Villa Park.