Martial hits back at Mourinho: My family comes first

Anthony Martial has defended his decision to go AWOL from Manchester United’s tour of the US for the birth of his baby boy and told the club that family comes first.

Martial confirmed that he will return to Manchester on Thursday having not been seen for more than a week since leaving United’s training base in LA against the wishes of manager Jose Mourinho to fly to Paris.

The 22-year-old France winger has not trained for eight days and could face a fine of £180,000, the equivalent of two weeks wages, if United decide that the unauthorised absence has breached his contract.

Mourinho called on Martial to return to America after his partner Melanie Da Cruz gave birth to their son Swan soon after the player’s arrival in France.

But after ending the tour with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in Miami, the United boss admitted that he ‘didn’t know’ if Martial will rejoin the rest of his teammates this week.

The player responded on Wednesday by tweeting: ‘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 Manches