- Maguire faced heavy criticism for months on end
- Linked with Man Utd exit but stayed to fight for spot
- Explains how he overcame savage condemnation
WHAT HAPPENED?
Maguire swapped Leicester City for United in 2019 for £80 million ($102m) but he has, arguably, not lived up to that price tag. The centre-back struggled for form for much of 2021 and 2022, which led to stinging criticism for the England man, and it seemed he wasn’t far away from signing for West Ham in 2023. However, the 6’4 defender vowed to fight for his place under Erik ten Hag and this season his performances have improved. And part of that recovery, he says, is down to having an important mindset.
WHAT HARRY MAGUIRE SAID
He told talkSPORT: “First and foremost, it’s a huge honour and a massive privilege to play for a club with so much history. It’s a huge club and I love playing for it. It means so much to me and there’s so many ups and downs, the scrutiny is there, everybody knows that. The pressure is there because we’re the most spoken-about club in the world – for sure in this country. That’s just the way it is and you have to get used to it. You’ve got to be able to deal with it. As an individual, you can’t look too much into it, you just have to look after yourself during the week and prepare as well as you can. Then you approach the matchday with confidence. The preparation gives you the confidence to deal with the pressure of playing for such a huge, iconic club.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
While Maguire’s displays have improved, United as a whole have had a poor season. They finished eighth in the Premier League, failed to defend their Carabao Cup title, came bottom of their Champions League group, and manager Ten Hag is fighting for his job. If the Red Devils fail to win the FA Cup this weekend, this season will be seen as a disaster.
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WHAT NEXT?
Maguire, who has been picked in Gareth Southgate’s provisional 33-man England squad for Euro 2024, will line up for United in their FA Cup final clash at Wembley with bitter rivals Manchester City on Saturday.
