Harry Maguire will no longer wear the captain’s arm band at Manchester United. Maguire, 30, just confirmed as much in a lengthy statement on his Twitter account. Having fallen way out of favor under manager Erik Ten Hag, deservedly so given his massive drop in form, this could signal that they end of his United career could be in the works soon.
West Ham United have been linked to the embattled central defender, so that could be a possibility (They do have an opening now with the captaincy, after all).
After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain. He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt.
So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the… pic.twitter.com/TAOS0eisF1
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) July 16, 2023
“After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain. He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt,” Maguire tweeted a few hours ago.
So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband.
Since the day I took on the role, three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date. It’s one of the greatest honours in club football. I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful – on and off the field.
I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support.
Maguire had been a full time first teamer at United since his £80 million ($104 million, which broke a world record for a defender at the time) move from Leicester in 2019.
However he made just 16 appearances in the league last season. For whatever reason, his form with England seems to be superior to his club form. Perhaps he just slots in better with Three Lions and works better with Gareth Southgate. In recent years, the criticism of Harry Maguire has been pretty intense.
Some of it is very deserved, because hey, he’s been bad and he gets paid the big bucks to produce.
Plus, the biggest spotlight is what all footballers who sign up for Manchester United and England willingly commit to. That said, a lot of the Harry Maguire criticism has been flat out abuse, both at the stadium and online. A lot that harshness has been personal, and that is just uncalled for.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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