Anthony Martial's wife reveals death threat messages after Man United's defeat

Anthony Martial's wife Melanie has shared a series of vile messages she received in the wake of Manchester United's 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United on Wednesday.

The Frenchman was criticised for his showing in the surprise loss, and both he and fellow teammate Axel Tuanzebe received a number of racist replies to posts they had sent on Instagram after the match.

This prompted a number of United players to show support, with captain Harry Maguire posting on Twitter: "UNITED against racism. We will not tolerate it."

But it seems the disgusting abuse was not limited to the players, with Melanie sharing some of the private messages she received on Instagram.

One of them read: "Tell your f****** husband, boyfriend or whatever to get tf out of Manchester or we're gonna get him killed.

"You guys should get tf out or put your life and family's (your kid & Martial) life in danger."

There was also further racist abuse, along with one message which simply repeated a number of times: "F*** your Husband."

United were quick to release a statement on Thursday condemning the abuse some of the players and their families had received.

It read: "Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse received by players via social media after last night’s game.

"We utterly condemn it and it is encouraging to see other fans condemn this on social media also.

"Manchester United has zero tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination and a long-standing commitment to campaigning against it through our All Red All Equal initiative.

"Identifying these anonymous mindless idiots remains problematic. We urge social media platforms and regulatory authorities to strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour."

Former defender Rio Ferdinand also expressed his dismay on Twitter, linking to some of the messages directed at Tuanzebe along with the message: "This is a disgrace. These ignorant idiots need to be exposed so everyone can see them for what they are!"