Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has commented on Cristiano Ronaldo’s role in causing Harry Maguire’s serious drop in form at Manchester United.
Harry Maguire continues to struggle for form amid constant criticism. Harry Maguire’s power struggle with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United is seen as a pivotal moment, according to Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher.
Jamie Carragher claims the power struggle at Manchester United between Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire has left the England centre-back “demotivated”. The former Liverpool centre-back also called for Maguire to be removed from the England squad to help him stay away from controversy to stabilize his spirits and regain his form.
Maguire was pushed to United’s bench by manager Erik ten Hag last season. In pre-season, Ten Hag also stripped Maguire of the United captaincy and handed it back to Bruno Fernandes. Maguire has been on the bench in all 4 of the Reds’ games this season. He only came on as a substitute once and played 1 minutes in United’s 23-1 defeat to Arsenal in the 3th round of the Premier League at Emirates Stadium.
Despite this, Maguire has been a regular starter for England as Gareth Southgate has always been by his side. Southgate even considers Maguire England’s No. 1 centre-back at the moment. During the last England gathering, Maguire was surprisingly blamed by fans for England’s defeat to Ukraine, although it was not entirely his fault.
The following match, Maguire came on as a substitute and scored an own goal in England’s 3–1 friendly win over Scotland. Maguire continues to face harsh criticism and ridicule, which outsiders can clearly see as unfair to him.
Was there a power struggle between Ronaldo and Maguire before? PHOTO: GETTY
Meanwhile, commenting in the Mirror (UK) today 15-9, Jamie Carragher said that it was Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United in 2021 that was the turning point that made Maguire’s loss of form even worse.
Jamie Carragher told The Telegraph: “The same thing happened when Cristiano Ronaldo came back and there was news of a power struggle in the Manchester United dressing room. That’s when Harry Maguire’s downward momentum was set.”
Last year, it was reported that Ronaldo felt he would be a better choice than Maguire for the captaincy at Old Trafford, after Maguire’s decline in form coincided with the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the appointment of interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
The 30-year-old England centre-back looks unlikely to get much of a chance at United under Erik ten Hag, unless there is a major injury crisis at Old Trafford.
Harry Maguire had the chance to leave Manchester United for West Ham but wage issues prevented the deal. In the end, Ten Hag decided to keep Maguire at the club due to injuries to several defenders, including Raphael Varane, despite West Ham’s willingness to return to the negotiating table.
Jamie Carragher has claimed that it is not feasible for manager Gareth Southgate to call Harry Maguire into England’s squad for next year’s Euro 2024 finals in Germany, as Maguire has not played regularly at United in the past two years.
Southgate has defended his position, determined to bring Maguire to Qatar for last year’s 2022 World Cup. But now, the Three Lions boss faces an even tougher decision on whether to pick or remove Maguire in Europe’s biggest tournament next summer.
Jamie Carragher added: “I don’t understand whether constantly putting Harry Maguire on such a big stage, in the midst of Maguire not playing regularly at United, will help him get back to the level he used to be? This must stop, first of all, for Harry Maguire’s own sake.”
Jamie Carragher has called for Maguire to be left out of the England squad. PHOTO: MIRROR
After Harry Maguire “burned the temple” during England’s friendly win over hosts Scotland on Sunday, England manager Gareth Southgate defended the former Manchester United captain against criticism: “It’s a joke. Not by the Scottish fans but by our commentators, pundits or whatever. They created something far beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”
