Manchester United 'disrespected' Anthony Martial by handing No 9 shirt to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, says agent who blames switch for dip in form

Manchester United forward Anthony Martial was 'surprised and disappointed' to lose his No 9 shirt to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, his agent has revealed.

Martial wore the shirt during his first season at United but he now sports No 11 after Ibrahimovic took over the No 9 upon signing in the summer.

Philippe Lamboley, the player's representative, has described the decision to as 'disrespectful' in an explosive interview with French media outlet RMC Sport.

Martial had an outstanding breakthrough season at Old Trafford after signing from Monaco last season, but his performances have failed to hit the same heights this season. He has scored only two goals in twelve appearances under Jose Mourinho.

'The loss of the No 9 shirt has been mentioned to justify his start to the season,' Lamboley told RMC Sport.

'I am not going to lie to you. Yes, this has affected him, yes this surprised him, yes it disappointed him... for a few days. But he is a professional. He then got back into the swing of things.

'Personally, I have not accepted this decision that I deemed uncalled for and disrespectful towards my player. This feeling, I have directed this towards Manchester United's directors. We turn the page and move on but it's hard to digest it.'

Sportsmail understands that Martial had been working on his branding with his commercial team in the lead-up to the change and they were hoping to make a major impact on his personal website and social media with the No 9 central to the publicity theme.

It is understood that there was no consultation before Ibrahimovic took over the shirt number. On the Chinese social website Weibo, his branding was launched as 'AnthonyMartial_9' in late September this year, despite Ibrahimovic now wearing the United No 9 shirt and Martial the No 11.

Martial's agent also claimed that the forward's problems at the start of this campaign are due to the lack of holiday that the player was able to have this summer, following a gruelling campaign and then exertions with the French national team at Euro 2016.

Everyone who follows and understands football will be able to understand. To understand that a boy who played 60 games last season, who played his last match of last season on July 10, competed at the Euros, who had 15 days of holiday and joined pre-season 15 days later, can not be at his best level from the start of the season.

'I have to say that the first four matches of the season with United, Anthony was starting while being at only 60 per cent of his means. I also must add add that Anthony scored his first goal for France. People don't realise the difficulty of playing 60 games in one season, moreover in the Premier League.

The agent did, however, play down suggestions that there are problems between Martial and Jose Mourinho, while also insisting the Frenchman is happy in Manchester.