07 July 2023 , 23:41
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Lisandro Martinez has shown that all it takes to let bygones be bygones is a £60m transfer.
Martinez and Mason Mount didn't appear to be the best of friends back in October when they lined up on opposite sides for the Premier League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea. There looked to be bad blood between the pair, but it's now a thing of the past.
The pair might have been in for an awkward reunion after Mount's Man Utd transfer was made official. Instead, as the England star joined his new colleagues for his first training session, he was greeted warmly by his former foe.
Man Utd's Twitter account had shared a before-and-after comparison with the caption 'life comes at you fast'. The first photo showed Luke Shaw needing to separate Martinez and Mount during the October game, while the second showed the new team-mates all smiles in training.
Martinez quote-tweeted the photo with a simple caption. "We're friends now," the World Cup winner wrote.
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Former Ajax defender Martinez earned the nickname "the butcher" for his combative approach at his former club. It's clearly not just about aggression for him, though - at least if you're on his side.
What will Man Utd achieve with Mason Mount in the squad? Have your say in the comments section
Upon completing his move, Mount opened up on his decision to leave Chelsea after more than a decade and a half. He was just six years old when he first joined the Blues' academy, and won the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup with the London side.
"I think, over the last several months, it became clear that I wasn't in the plans moving forward [at Chelsea] and, once I knew that United were involved, my decision was made up," he told MUTV. "It’s a massive club with huge, iconic players that have played here.
"I wanted to be a part of that from from the beginning. And obviously getting in early, ready for pre-season to start, was a main objective of mine as well.
"The most important thing for me was getting there, being ready on day one and being able to obviously meet all the players, the manager, and get working We've got a big season ahead and we want to win trophies, we want to be successful. So, yeah, it was really big for me to be here on day one and get going straight away."
Man Utd and Chelsea will have to wait until December 6 for their first Premier League meeting of the season. Whether Martinez warms to the Blues' current squad as quickly as he seems to have warmed to their former number 19 - and United's new number seven - is another matter altogether.