Anthony Martial prompts speculation he is unhappy with Manchester United squad number change by promoting himself wearing No 9 shirt... not his new No 11

Anthony Martial has set tongues wagging after plastering his social media profiles with pictures of himself wearing the Manchester United No 9 shirt, days after he was forced to hand it to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Martial was switched to No 11 at Old Trafford after Ibrahimovic 'chose' the No 9 for himself following his blockbuster transfer this summer.

But that hasn't stopped the former Monaco striker launching his new business and naming it 'AM9' ‒ which uses his initials and his squad number from last term.

The 20-year-old forward announced his new brand on his social media channels by uploading new profile pictures on both his Facebook and Twitter accounts on Saturday.

On Facebook, Martial changed his cover photo to a picture of him donning the No 9 shirt during last season's FA Cup semi-final triumph over Everton. Martial proved to be the hero in that match by netting a dramatic last-gasp winner to seal his side's place in the final, where they went on to defeat Crystal Palace at Wembley.

The No 9 is emblazoned across all of the striker's social media accounts and is even displayed in his Instagram username, Martial_9.

Martial's choice of pictures led to hundreds of fans making comments about the squad number changes, with many speculating whether he was unhappy with being ousted from the No 9 shirt in favour of Ibrahimovic, and this being his way of showing his displeasure.

One Facebook user, Ismail Ibrahim, said: 'Is this a hint Martial is not happy converting from the number 9 to 11?'

Another user, Moralos Kalangi, said: 'The club didn't ask for his approval when they changed his number! He was our best player last season (besides De Gea) and the club treat him like s*** for an overrated mercenary! This is very disrespectful! What a joke! Disgraceful! Martial for #9!'

There was some criticism for Martial, however, with Hadj Muhammed saying: 'I don't see a problem for you to wear a number 11 in place of 9... what's the problem Martial, stop acting like a kid.'

MANCHESTER UNITED'S FAMOUS NUMBER NINES 

Dimitar Berbatov

Games: 149

Goals: 56 

Andy Cole

Games: 275

Goals: 121

Brian McClair

Games: 471

Goals: 127

Sir Bobby Charlton

Games: 758

Goals: 249

Ibrahimovic, who has been given an extended summer break by Jose Mourinho, posted an image of No 9 on Instagram earlier this week, writing: 'I chose the number 9.'

The Swedish striker has varied between numbers eight, nine and 10 throughout his career but with all three taken upon his arrival at Old Trafford, he was expected to have to settle for different number.

But Martial has moved to 11 while previous occupant Adnan Januzaj now has 15. Juan Mata keeps No 8 and Wayne Rooney remains on No 10.