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Anthony Martial: Man Utd star responds to Jose Mourinho with defiant statement
ANTHONY MARTIAL has confirmed he will be back in Manchester tomorrow to resume training after criticism from Jose Mourinho - insisting family will always come before his football.
Mourinho on Martial departure: 'Nobody has the right to stop him'
Martial was given permission by Manchester United to leave their training camp in America and attend the birth of his second child.
With an inexperienced squad at his disposal, United boss Jose Mourinho has not hidden his dissatisfaction at Martial not returning to the US.
But Martial has hit back at Mourinho, revealing his absence was due to his partner feeling unwell following the birth.
Martial wrote on Twitter: “Thank you all for your posts. My little Swan is fine, for the mom it was harder but thanks to God she's better now.
Sorry but my family will always come first. Back tomorrow in Manchester
“Sorry but my family will always come first... Back tomorrow in Manchester.”
Martial started United’s clashes against Club America and San Jose Earthquakes but has missed the games against AC Milan, Liverpool and Real Madrid.
And speaking after United’s 2-1 win over Madrid last night, Mourinho was reluctant to discuss the situation about Martial.
Merci à tous pour vos messages. Mon petit Swan va bien, pour la maman ça était plus difficile mais Grâce à Dieu elle va mieux maintenant. Desolé mais ma famille passera toujours avant Tout... Retour demain à Manchester ������������
— Anthony Martial (@AnthonyMartial) August 1, 2018
"Anthony Martial? Is better for [press officer] Karen [Shotbolt] to answer if she wants to answer," Mourinho said.
Shotbolt then replied: "We're here to talk about the game." And when asked if he knew when Martial would rejoin the squad, Mourinho said: "I don't know."
United have one more pre-season game against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena on August 5.