On the verge of joining West Ham for around 35 million euros during the transfer window, Harry Maguire will leave Manchester United where he will have lived a very special four-year story, between a historic transfer, the captaincy, mockery and even threats. .
The marriage between Harry Maguire and Manchester United was never very happy and the upcoming divorce was perhaps the best thing that could happen. In four years with the Red Devils, the English defender has had more downs than ups.
The Englishman was promoted to captain but soon became the laughing stock of Mancunian fans and then the whole country, despite not performing as badly as some would have us believe. Back on a laborious history on the side of Old Trafford.
Summer 2019 – The most expensive defender in history
After two full seasons at Leicester, Harry Maguire arrives at Manchester United against 87 million euros and becomes the most expensive defender in history – a record which has just been beaten by Jasko Gvardiol and his 90 million euros.
At 26, he must become the new boss of the Mancunian defense, where Aaron Wan-Bissaka arrives at the same time. Dominant in the air, a good raiser, he has everything to succeed and management is thinking of getting a player who will change the face of the team like Liverpool with Virgil van Dijk a year and a half earlier.
January 2020 – Already captain
From his tenth match with Manchester United, Harry Maguire is captain against Partizan Belgrade, in the Europa League. He then replaced Ashley Young, usual wearer of the armband and absent that evening, whose departure a few weeks later during the winter transfer window will change the situation. Only six months after Maguire joined the club, manager Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer decided to make him captain of the Red Devils. A decision that will put the English defender even more in the spotlight.
After that, at the slightest mediocre performance, Maguire becomes the target of the fans. The 6-1 defeat against Tottenham, in October 2020, marks the spirits. The British defender is singled out for his apparent slowness and heaviness, his often hazardous raises, his sometimes missed tackles. The price of his transfer does not help: expectations were huge when he arrived but defensive progress is still pending.
Summer 2021 – Ronaldo’s return and the question of the captaincy
After Jadon Sancho, the Red Devils quickly sign Raphaël Varane and especially Cristiano Ronaldo. The Frenchman must be Maguire’s partner in central defense to finally form a solid hinge. The Portuguese returns to Old Trafford with legendary status and some are already calling for him to take the captain’s armband. But Solskjaer does not want to dismiss Maguire, whom he has always publicly defended.
The British defender comes out in addition to a very successful Euro with the Three Lions. Finalist, present in the standard team of the competition, Maguire displays his qualities and the debate resurfaces: if he is not at the same level in Manchester, it is perhaps because of the environment. Quickly after the summer, the English media revealed the start of a rivalry between Maguire and CR7.
March 2022 – Wembley whistles, Southgate in support
As criticism of his level at the club continues, Harry Maguire is whistled at Wembley during a meeting between England and Ivory Coast. “These whistles, it’s a huge joke, reacts coach Gareth Southgate. What he did for us, his performances with us, everything was phenomenal. Frankly, I don’t understand.”
A few months earlier, it was Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer, his coach at MU, who had stepped up to support the Englishman, criticized for celebrating a goal while pretending not to hear the negative comments. “He has been a pillar for us on and off the pitch since his arrival,” said the Norwegian.
April 2022 – The Davies Mockery and a Bomb Threat
Hitherto singled out by football fans, Maguire is publicly mocked by one of his peers, Alphonso Davies. “Imagine you are Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest players of the 21st century, and Harry Maguire is your captain,” said the Bayern Munich defender in a live Twitch. The teasing about Harry Maguire becomes even more regular and virulent.
A few weeks later, the Englishman was the victim of a bomb threat at his home. The police take the case very seriously, the player and his family are forced to stay elsewhere for a while. Very disturbed, Maguire is not aligned during the following match against Arsenal, lost by Manchester United.
Summer 2022 – The arrival of ten Hag and the downgrading
Landed from Ajax Amsterdam, Erik ten Hag arrives with Lisandro Martinez in his suitcases. The Argentinian quickly established himself as a starter in central defense, linking up with Raphaël Varane and pushing Harry Maguire to the bench. The captaincy of the Englishman is no longer in question because of Cristiano Ronaldo, whose performance is declining and who will leave during the winter, but simply because he is no longer a starter.
When he plays, as in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, he scores a funny CSC on the way out and gives Sevilla a goal on a ball on the return. During the World Cup, during the season, he is still a starter and at the level, but as since his arrival at Manchester United in 2019, he is unable to reproduce these club performances.
Summer 2023 – The loss of the captaincy and a future departure
A year after his arrival, Erik ten Hag decides to withdraw the armband from Harry Maguire. The player communicated it himself, mid-July on social networks. “The coach informed me that he was changing captain. He explained his reasons to me and although I am extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every day for this shirt.”
He even indicates, without being believed, to thank “Manchester United fans for their incredible support” when he wore the armband.
A few days before the resumption of the Premier League, this weekend, he is expected on the side of West Ham for around 35 million euros. At 30, it’s time for him to relaunch his career by finding some peace of mind, away from the spotlight at Old Trafford.
2023-08-09 17:58:49
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