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Emmanuel Petit believes Anthony Martial must ask himself if he has the desire to continue playing football. Martial's nine-year spell as a Manchester United player was brought to an end in June after he was released by the 20-time English top flight winners. However, the 28-year-old forward is yet to find a new home. Martial reportedly came close to signing with Brazilian club Flamengo, but his salary demands were described as 'unworkable'. It means Martial, once the world's most expensive teenager when he signed for the Red Devils from Monaco for £36million in 2015, faces an increasingly uncertain future. Granted, the French star has had his fair share of injury woes which caused him to miss 94 games for United. But it is a puzzling fall from grace, especially since it looked like Martial might live up to the lofty expectations when he scored 17 league goals in the 2019-20 season. Petit felt for Martial and pointed to the internal turmoil at United as a reason behind the forward's demise. Yet the 1998 World Cup winner remains miffed as to why the 28-year-old remains a free agent. "I can't remember the last time he was a proper footballer on the pitch, producing good performances, " Petit said, speaking ahead of episode 1 of The Lineup, a brand new You Tube show bought to you by talk SPORT & Bet MGM. "He's been riddled with so many injuries in the last few years. But when you look at the stability at Manchester United, I'm not surprised a lot of players suffer from that. Managers and fans as well. He's not the only one. "But he's getting lost in transition actually. I cannot understand why this guy, even if he wasn't that good for the last few years, when he arrives at the end of his contract, he has no proposition. For me, this is a mystery. " As a free agent, there is no deadline on when a club can sign Martial. But the longer he remains without a team, the more time it will take for the 28-year-old to get up to speed. Given it is only his financial demands that has forced clubs to walk away from a deal Martial could find a club quicker if he chooses to lower his salary request, although he has every right to request whatever figure he feels worthy of. At 28, Martial still has several years left to enjoy a fruitful career in football, even if it is not at the level of Manchester United. But Petit questioned if Martial wanted to return to football at any level. The Monaco great pointed to Martial's off-field troubles in recent years, which included two marriage breakdowns, as a reason why he may have struggled on the park. It's why Petit believes the 30-cap French international must conduct some serious soul-searching to work out if he truly wants to continue playing. "Maybe he should ask himself this question, does he have the desire to keep on going with his career? " Petit said. "Because I have the feeling that the last few years was very difficult for him on and off the pitch. "It's quite difficult to get a good mind coming in every morning at the training ground and try to give your best all the time because you have a problem in your life, you have a problem in the dressing room, you have problems everywhere. "So, if I was Anthony Martial, I would ask myself the question in the mirror. Do I still want to be a professional footballer? " Don’t miss episode 1 of The Line Up bought to you by talk SPORT & Bet MGM. Available on the talk SPORT You Tube channel on Tuesday 17 September Have your say on all things talk SPORT by joining ‘The DUGOUT’ – our new listener panel. We're all about diving deep into your perspectives, and making sure talk SPORT is the absolute best it can be. Your voice matters, and we want to hear it! Pitch your game-changing ideas, and join in with fun surveys, polls, and locker-room discussions. Just by joining, you'll enter a prize draw to win one of four £50 Amazon vouchers, with another prize draw entry for every survey you complete after that To join the ‘The DUGOUT’ panel, please click here. This service is provided on talk SPORT Ltd's Terms of Use in accordance with our Privacy Policy.