[TELEGRAPH] Ducker: Bomb threats and public humiliation – but Harry Maguire is Manchester United’s great survivor

Article Text:

>*A window into Harry Maguire’s professionalism came in the wake of the Manchester United defender being* [*stripped of the club captaincy*](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/07/16/harry-maguire-stripped-man-utd-captaincy-erik-ten-hag/) *by Erik ten Hag.*

>*It was a sore moment for Maguire, one of the lowest ebbs of his roller-coaster career at Old Trafford. By his own admission, it left him feeling less important to the club.*

>*There are players who would have struggled to conceal their bitterness or refused to go out of their way to back their replacement.*

>*But Maguire was the opposite. He had leant on Bruno Fernandes, as well as David de Gea and Nemanja Matic, when he had the armband and was now determined to give his successor the same support – that has never wavered since.*

>*Team before self. It has always been the way with Maguire. Fernandes has always recognised and appreciated it and, almost three years on from taking over the captaincy, he knows the battle-hardened centre-back is a team-mate who will fight his corner.*

>*Bruno Fernandes (right) replaced Maguire as club captain in 2023 but their relationship has remained strong Credit: Alastair Grant/AP*

>*Maguire’s United contract is due to expire at the end of the season and it is plain to see why the dressing room is so eager for the club to give an extension to the man widely regarded internally as the “ultimate team player”.*

>*He has been central to United’s turnaround under head coach Michael Carrick, who wasted no time restoring Maguire to the heart of the defence in a 4-2-3-1, and was again leading calls this week for the defender’s return to the England squad after an 18-month absence.*

>*Thomas Tuchel, who on Friday names his squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, has a big call to make before this summer’s World Cup.*

>*‘A shining example for any struggling player’*

>*Maguire’s seven years at Old Trafford since his £80m transfer from Leicester City are a triumph of patience and perseverance, determination and dedication.*

>*There are players who would not have got back up off the canvas had they gone through what Maguire has faced. That public humiliation by Ten Hag tells only part of the story.*

>*He has been dropped, undermined, scapegoated and would even have been sold in 2023 had he not turned down a* [*£30m move to West Ham United*](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/08/14/west-ham-transfer-news-harry-magure-doubt-manchester-united/)*.*

>*There was the* [*ordeal in Mykonos*](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/08/26/harry-maguires-mykonos-nightmare-result-famous-footballer-trying/) *and the farcical six-year Greek legal process that only concluded this month. He has even been booed by his own fans and the victim of a bomb threat.*

>*He would probably be the first to admit that there have been times when that has taken a toll. But throughout it all he has kept his dignity, remained loyal to United even when that loyalty did not appear to be reciprocated and shown considerable resilience in the face of adversity.*

>*He is United’s great survivor in the very best sense. Or, as one senior source at the club, put it: “Harry is a shining example of what can be achieved if you’re going through a tough time. He’s the perfect example for any player struggling in the dressing room of how it can be turned around.”*

>***Booed by own fans and moving family to a safe house***

>*Carrick is Maguire’s seventh different manager, including interims, at United. Some, like Ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, appeared ready to turn their back on him but they would eventually end up relying on him.*

>*In both cases, it begged the question as to why they did not place more stock in the player from the outset.*

>*Amorim’s reign might have been shorter than 14 months but for Maguire’s dramatic winners against Leicester, Lyon and Liverpool.*

>*Ten Hag came to depend on Maguire in a way he could not have imagined after a summer in which he stripped him of the captaincy and then tried to sell him.*

>*The unrest did not just come from his managers. Cristiano Ronaldo’s reported challenges to Maguire’s authority were reflective of the tension that festered for a period in United’s dressing room.*

>*Ronaldo, for example, was said to roll his eyes on occasion when Maguire was talking. The Portugal forward is even thought to have coveted the captain’s armband at Maguire’s expense.*

>*Cristiano Ronaldo is understood to have been unsuccessful in his attempt to depose Maguire as Manchester United captain Credit: Dave Thompson/AP*

>*That was a particularly difficult period for Maguire. It was around that time that he was booed by England fans during a game against Ivory Coast. A few weeks later, he had to move his wife Fern and two young daughters to a safe house while police carried out a sweep of his home following a bomb threat.*

>*Match-going United supporters have always stood by Maguire but there were instances of the defender being booed by his own fans on the club’s pre-season tour of Australia in 2022 and during a friendly in Dublin the following year.*

>*All the while, the shadow of a trial in Greece continued to hang over him after his* [*arrest in August 2020*](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/08/21/manchester-united-captain-harry-maguire-arrested-alleged-incident/) *following a brawl while on holiday with his close-knit family in Mykonos.*

>*Earlier this month, Maguire was handed a 15-month suspended sentence by a Greek court for non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery following a retrial, which had been postponed on four occasions between 2023 and 2025.*

>*Sources say that Maguire – who claimed to be defending his sister Daisy during an altercation in a bar – denies wrongdoing and plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. He has rejected a number of opportunities to settle the case out of court since he is determined to clear his name legally.*

>***An England return?***

>*Whether the conviction, if not quashed before then, would affect his ability to travel to the US should Tuchel include him in his World Cup squad is unclear. Maguire won the last of his 64 caps in a* [*Nations League win over the Republic of Ireland*](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/09/07/republic-of-ireland-vs-england-nations-league-latest-update/) *in Dublin in September 2024 and has never played for England under Tuchel.*

>*But it would be a big decision for the German to leave him out given his tournament experience, form and leadership, especially with Manchester City’s John Stones struggling for fitness.*

>*That know-how, particularly in tight games, can be invaluable and his threat in both boxes is a huge asset in this age of set-pieces.*

>*Everton away last month was a case in point. Maguire repeatedly put his head and body on the line to repel the aerial bombardment during* [*United’s hard-fought 1-0 win*](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2026/02/23/everton-vs-man-utd-live-score-latest-updates-premier-league/) *and was first to jump to Leny Yoro’s defence when the young defender was shoved into the net by James Tarkowski.*

>*Like Yoro, Ayden Heaven is another young defender who has come to greatly value Maguire’s advice. Maguire is not a shouter but if he detects a drop in standards he will be one of the first to call it out.*

>*Injured for the final two months of Amorim’s reign, he has been pivotal under Carrick and a coaching staff he knows well. Steve Holland was a big advocate of the defender during his time as Gareth Southgate’s assistant with England, Jonny Evans is a close friend and former team-mate and he knew Travis Binnion from his time at Sheffield United.*

>*Maguire has been free to talk to foreign clubs since the turn of the year but rebuffed a number of approaches in January. He hopes to agree a new deal with United, who are committed to driving down their wage bill and ideally want to reduce his £190,000-a-week salary.*

>*Equally, Maguire – who turned 33 a fortnight ago – would want some security in terms of the length of any new contract.*

>*With veteran Brazil midfielder Casemiro due to leave United at the end of the season, losing Maguire’s experience at the same time would present a serious headache. And United already have enough concerns at centre-back over the fitness of Lisandro Martínez, who is out again after recently returning from a long-term lay-off, and Matthijs de Ligt, who has not played since November due to a back complaint that persists.*

>*Do not bet against United’s great survivor hanging around for a good while yet.*

Maguire’s story is truly something. He really is an inspiration. To just power through being the ridicule of the world is impressive. It looked bad when he said no to West Ham. Looked like Jadon Sancho found a buddy. But instead he’s rewritten his legacy and gets to leave a cult hero rather than a failed transfer.

Weirdly fits this era of the club. Maybe we’re in the Maguire comeback stage.

The best post-Fergie CB signing so far

and it’s funny i see some people online still use Maguire as meme, bro clearly didn’t even watch the game and just doing meme like fools.

One year on lower wages. We are losing Cas, De ligt and Licha have their injury concerns. We need to keep as many leaders as we can, otherwise we go back to what we have been over the last decade. Add the fact I think he has earned it. If he can make better money somewhere else, and at this stage of his career he wants a new challenge, I wish him the best! He has been a role model and a true professional after all the adversity!

Edit: add in the way he is mentoring our younger CBs, I hope we can keep him for at least a year!

i thought he would not recover after that diabolical performance and the stripping of Captaincy. i’m glad that i was wrong and he bounced back