Anthony Martial's Man Utd downfall: Red Devils "conned", private texts and transfer demand

Anthony Martial is ready to say goodbye to Manchester United for the remainder of the season.

The Frenchman will join Sevilla on loan until June and will later make a decision on his long-term future. Whether that will be at United or elsewhere is yet unknown.

The Red Devils signed Martial back in 2015, parting with a huge £36million upfront and additional variable bonuses worth £21.6m.

Then United boss Louis van Gaal was delighted to snap up the young Frenchman, who at the time was being dubbed the next Thierry Henry.

"Anthony is a naturally talented, young, multi-functional forward with great potential. I believe this is the club for him to continue his development," said Van Gaal of Martial.

Martial's start to life at United is what dreams are made of, with the youngster netting in a win over bitter rivals Liverpool.

His impact prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to claim: "The boy Anthony Martial, he can be anything".

But things didn't progress in the way Martial nor United would have liked, especially following Van Gaal's dismissal.

The Dutchman was sacked two weeks after Man United won the FA Cup and was replaced by the hard-to-please Jose Mourinho.

Martial found opportunities harder to come by under Mourinho, and the former Chelsea manager had no obligation to get the best out of the Frenchman, having not been the man to sign him.

Not long after his arrival, Mourinho publicly criticised Martial, prompting a response from the Frenchman.

Martial told RMC Sport: "It's true that I'd have preferred it if [Mourinho] told me directly, there's no need to say it in front of everybody. After that, you definitely want to prove him wrong.

"He didn't start me during the first few games and each time I came on, I scored. In the