When Manchester City confirmed the signing of Raheem Sterling for £49 million, the media publicized the signing in awe of the player, as if Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi had joined the club. The media’s enlightened description of how good a signing Sterling was for City seemed to create an image of Sterling as a world class player even though he isn’t close to it yet.
A month later, Manchester United completed a deal for French teenager Anthony Martial for £36 million. At the time, the media made everyone believe that United was the joke of the transfer market, panic buying 19-year-olds for ridiculous fees. It seemed the writing was on the wall, both figuratively and literally, for Martial and Sterling. Sterling, supposedly a bargain, was the transfer of the summer, and Martial the joke of a player for the joke of a club. Why? Because the media said so. It has been almost nine months since United confirmed the deal to bring Martial in from Monaco, and we now know that the media, not United, is the joke of the football world.
The statistics and the fans of both City and United will be able to agree that, on information from the past two seasons, Martial is the better signing by far. Martial contributes more to all three phases of football, and his 15 goals and nine assists in all competitions are comfortably better than Sterling’s 11 and nine, respectively. Martial is also a year younger and has two years less experience in the Premier League. Once he makes up the time, he is now likely to be one of the best players in the world. He’s been one of the best in the Premier League this season.
Just yesterday, Martial scored the winning goal in the 93rd minute to take Manchester United to the FA Cup final. He claimed an assist for Marouane Fellaini’s opener and gave Everton’s defence countless problems on the day. That isn’t the first time we’ve seen Martial’s potential either. We’ve seen it every week, we’ve seen now 20-year-old Martial carrying Manchester United’s attack through thick and thin. He’s more productive than a player who plays alongside David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, and Sergio Aguero.
If Martial and United win the FA Cup next month, Martial will be loved among United fans regardless of how much he could decline in the coming seasons. Martial will pack his bags and represent France ahead of some of the world’s top attacking talents in June. Can the same be said for Sterling, who has been bested by Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and many other English talents throughout the season?
The fact is, Martial has been the better player, but what one needs to see is the bigger picture. The media creates the image of the football world, and through Martial, we can understand that all the information with which we are fed and all the opinions we develop are based on what is said in the media.
For a second, we were willing to believe that Martial was the biggest flop in Premier League history without watching the Frenchman play a game because the media said he was. Fans were willing to believe that Daley Blind wasn’t a centre-back before Louis van Gaal gave him a chance there. He’s a contender for United’s player of the season awards. Today, Twitter is filled with Louis van Gaal criticism of how poor he’s been for the club. Save for the poor last month of 2015, Manchester United has been statistically one of the best if not the best team in the Premier League since van Gaal’s appointment. He’s also given debuts to 14 youth players, right in line with everything the fans believe in.
Martial has a chance to lead United to a piece of silverware in front of thousands of patriotic fans next month. The catalyst for United in the FA Cup, the 20-year-old will continue to be the man who defied expectations. Martial has not only been the embodiment of United’s hopes for this season, but he’s also taught international football fans not to judge a book by its cover. Perhaps it’s time for United fans and Premier League pundits to make a rational judgement. Martial, a down-to-earth footballer with an eye for goal, is changing the way people see the football media.
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