Harry Maguire stripped of Manchester United captaincy

Harry Maguire has released a lengthy statement confirming he has been ousted as captain of Manchester United by manager Erik ten Hag.

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Maguire became United captain within six months of joining the club for a fee of £80 million in August 2019, following Ashley Young’s departure to Inter Milan.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the manager at the time, and Maguire would retain the armband last season under Erik ten Hag despite not being the first choice for large spells of the season.

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Maguire played in just 31 of the club’s 62 matches in all competitions during the 2022-23 season, with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez favoured at the heart of United’s defence last season. When the latter was injured, Victor Lindelof was the next preferred starter.

Left-back Luke Shaw was also deployed as a centre-back on several occasions by Ten Hag, while Bruno Fernandes was captain for the vast majority of the campaign during Maguire’s absence on the field.

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MAGUIRE OUT AS MANCHESTER UNITED CAPTAIN

On Sunday, an “extremely disappointed” Maguire announced that Ten Hag had told him he would not be club captain should he stay put for the upcoming season.

“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 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 HAS BEEN DISPLACED AS CAPTAIN