Harry Maguire responds to Cristiano Ronaldo rift reports over Manchester United captaincy

Harry Maguire responds to Cristiano Ronaldo rift reports over Manchester United captaincy

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has dismissed allegations that he and Cristiano Ronaldo are feuding in the locker room over the club captaincy.

According to reports in the national press, Maguire and Ronaldo are locked in a power struggle at Old Trafford over the captaincy.

However, Maguire, following in the footsteps of Marcus Rashford, who dismissed rumours of discontent in the camp earlier this week, has disputed the rumours, maintaining that he and Ronaldo have no concerns.

Maguire, in a Twitter post, said: “I’ve seen a lot of false rumours about this club, and this is one of them. I’m not going to start posting about everything that’s been written, but this one has to be addressed.

“We’ve come together and are focused on Sunday. Everyone, have a wonderful day.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave the armband to the centre-back, who has been fiercely criticised by a rising number of United fans in recent weeks, just months after joining the club in a big-money transfer from Leicester City.

During Maguire’s injured layoff earlier in 2022, both Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo took over as captains, prompting cries from some United fans for the defender to be permanently stripped of the armband.

Following United’s 1-1 draw with Southampton at Old Trafford last Saturday, interim manager Rangnick claimed there was no cause for the England captaincy to be taken away from him.

According to Rangnick: “I believe he did exceptionally well when he returned from his injury. He put in a fantastic performance and played a fantastic game against West Ham.

“Yes, he had some lesser moments in the last two games, against Southampton and when we conceded the goal at Burnley, but he’s our captain and I see no reason to change that.”