Harry Maguire says he has been stripped as Manchester United captain by coach Erik ten Hag.
Maguire has not been a top choice for United under Ten Hag, making just 16 Premier League appearances last season and starting just eight of those times.
“After discussions with the manager today, he informed me that he is changing captains. He explained the reasons to me and while I am personally very disappointed, I will continue to give my best whenever I wear the shirt,” Maguire said in a Twitter post.
“So I want to say a huge thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support while I was wearing the captain’s armband.”
“Since the day I took on that role, three and a half years ago, it has been an enormous privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date. It is one of the greatest honors in club football. I have done everything I can to help United succeed – on and off the pitch.”
“I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I hope whoever is now taking it on every success and they will have my full support.”
Harry Maguire has been a key player at United since his £80 million ($104 million) move from Leicester in 2019 and was appointed captain by former manager Solskjaer in January 2020.
He remained captain when Ten Hag replaced Solskjaer at Old Trafford last summer, but Maguire’s game time was significantly reduced after Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were used more often at centre-back.
Maguire was also eliminated to the bench after the arrival of Erik Ten Hag. Now the Dutch coach has also decided to remove the captain’s armband from Maguire’s arm.
“Everyone at Manchester United thanks Harry Maguire for his contributions as captain over the last three-and-a-half years,” said a Manchester United statement.
“The manager will announce the new captain in due course, after briefing the players.”
Now Ten Hag will give the captain’s armband to another player. Then, who can carry out the mandate as the new leader in the Red Devils squad?
ESPN reported on May 31 that the Red Devils are willing to listen to offers for Maguire this summer and anticipate interest from West Ham, who have inquired about his availability during the January transfer window.
