Shocked Maguire stripped of Man United captaincy after Ten Hag talks
In an announcement revealed to Twitter on Sunday afternoon, Maguire, who has been linked with a possible transfer to West Ham in current days, outlined his “extreme disappointment” at having the armband taken away following talks with United supervisor Erik ten Hag.
“After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain,” the 30-year-old wrote. “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 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.”
Later responding to Maguire’s announcement, United wrote: “Everyone at Manchester United thanks Harry for his contribution as captain over the past three-and-a-half years.
“The manager will announce the new captain in due course, after he has informed the players.”
Maguire had served as United’s full-time captain since January 2020, when, having already taken the function on a lot of earlier events, he was appointed to the job completely by then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with former skipper Ashley Young on the verge of becoming a member of Inter Milan, simply 5 months after his personal £80million change from Leicester.
Once an ever-present in United’s backline with 175 appearances to his title and nonetheless a trusted lieutenant for England and Gareth Southgate, Maguire’s inventory at membership stage has fallen significantly in current occasions and he made simply 13 begins throughout all competitions throughout Ten Hag’s first season in cost at Old Trafford that culminated in the long run of their six-year trophy drought within the Carabao Cup and a third-place Premier League end that sealed a return to the Champions League in 2023/24.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez emerged as Ten Hag’s most well-liked centre-back pairing, with the likes of Victor Lindelof and even left-back Luke Shaw above Maguire – nonetheless underneath contract till 2025 – within the defensive pecking order.
He has regularly been linked with a transfer away from United, with West Ham believed to be excited by a summer time deal for his providers. In Maguire’s absence, vice-captain Bruno Fernandes led the Red Devils for a lot of final season and has already been installed as the early bookies’ favourite to take the armband on a full-time foundation subsequent time period.