Harry Maguire removed as Manchester United’s captain by Erik Ten Hag

 

Manchester United’s experienced defender Harry Maguire has been stripped of the club’s captaincy by head coach Erik Ten Hag. Maguire has received limited game time under the tutelage of the Dutchman. The Englishman could only play 16 matches across competitions in the last season.

In fact, Maguire had done a decent job for England in the FIFA World Cup 2022 but he was not included in the Red Devils’ starting XI on a consistent basis.

“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 said in a Twitter post on Sunday.

“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.”

Bruno Fernandes had led Manchester United in the previous season of the Premier League when Maguire was not part of the team. In fact, before the previous season, Maguire was a consistent starter for Manchester United. He was named captain by former boss Ole Solskjaer in January 2020.

Erik Ten Hag gave more opportunities to the duo of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as center-back and thus Maguire could only get limited matches.