After discussions with the manager Erik ten Hag, Manchester United’s Harry Maguire confirmed on Sunday that he will no longer serve as the team’s captain.
After making only a few appearances for the Dutch team under Ten Hag during the last campaign, there were rumors earlier this month that Ten Hag was planning to relieve the England international of his responsibilities.
The center defender only made eight starts in the Premier League, which has led to rumors and conjecture regarding his future with the English giants.
However, it is now apparent that he will no longer serve as the captain of the team at Old Trafford. Maguire wrote the following on Twitter after speaking with the manager today: “After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain.”
“He explained his reasons to me, and while I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all whenever I wear the shirt,” she said. “He outlined his reasons to me.”
The 30-year-old player continued by saying, “So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all of their brilliant support while I’ve been wearing the armband.”
Since the day I took over the post three and a half years ago, it has been an incredible honor for me to lead Manchester United. It is without a doubt one of the proudest moments of my professional career to this point.
“It’s one of the most prestigious awards in club football,” said the winner. On and off the field, I have contributed as much as I can to the success of United by doing everything I possibly can.
“I will be forever grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for being the first person to give me the responsibility, and I wish whoever now takes it on the best of luck, assuring them that they will have my full support,” said the former player.
Bruno Fernandes was the player who was appointed captain of the team in Maguire’s absence the most often during the 2017 season, and the Portugal midfielder is currently the favorite to be granted the post on a permanent basis.
Since his transfer from Leicester to Manchester United in 2019 for a fee of £80 million ($105 million or 93 million euros), Maguire has played in more than 170 games for United.
Despite the fact that Maguire has been the brunt of jokes on social media in the previous two seasons as a result of some high-profile errors committed while playing for United, he has continued to be a regular for England under the management of Gareth Southgate.
Maguire’s chances of making the first team at Old Trafford were also limited by the signing of Lisandro Martinez from Argentina during the previous campaign. As a result, the player’s name has recently been linked with a transfer to Premier League rivals West Ham.