Gary Neville hits back at Cristian Romero insulting him

Gary Neville has doubled down on his comments about Lisandro Martinez and Cristian Romero after the Argentina defenders hit back following their World Cup semi-final victory over England.

The Manchester United legend found himself at the centre of a war of words after the reigning world champions booked their place in another World Cup final with a 2-1 comeback win.

Neville’s pre-match assessment of Argentina’s centre-back partnership quickly resurfaced after the final whistle, with the former United captain having described Martinez and Romero as the best-worst centre-half pairing in the world.

Romero did not hide his feelings when asked about Neville’s remarks after the match.

“The only thing that I hope for is that when I retire, I am not that stupid. Hopefully I won’t criticise a player or anyone.”

Rather than backing away from his opinion, Gary Neville stood by his original comments while offering further explanation.

Gary Neville responds to insults from Cristian Romero

Speaking to Sky Sports News, he insisted the statistics supported his argument.

“Just to add extra words to what I said: they give goals away. They’ve conceded six goals in four knockout matches.”

Gary Neville also argued that Argentina’s success has relied heavily on Lionel Messi’s brilliance rather than the performances of their defenders.

“Those two should hug Messi every single day because he’s had to pull them out of the mire when they conceded two against Egypt, two against Cape Verde and one against England.”

Although he criticised the pair, Neville stressed that he still rates both defenders highly.

“But I did go onto say they are incredible, and their force of nature of how they go and win the game for their country – they go from the sublime to the ridiculous… they go and win every attacking header in the penalty box and sometimes in the defensive box.”

The former Manchester United captain then referenced Romero’s club form while defending his analysis.

“Romero played in a team last year who nearly got relegated in the Premier League and conceded 65 goals, so I think I know what I’m talking about when I watch a player.”

“Romero is very talented, so is Lisandro Martinez, but they do make mistakes, lots of them and they have conceded goals.

“I just see a contradiction in games between them. He’s relatively young, Romero, so he’s not an experienced defender yet and he’s had incredible achievements. He’s won a World Cup.”

Neville concluded by once again highlighting the influence of Argentina’s captain.

“But without Lionel Messi last night and the last two tournaments… Argentina didn’t win last night because of their centre-backs.

“They won because of arguably the greatest player of all time.”

While Martinez prepares to face Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final, uncertainty still surrounds his club future.

The Manchester United defender has recently been linked with a possible move to Atletico Madrid, meaning it remains to be seen whether he will still be wearing the red shirt at Old Trafford when the new season begins.