Man Utd star Harry Maguire hints at January exit amid ‘farcical’ treatment
Manchester United star Harry Maguire has admitted his lack of game time at Old Trafford could become an issue sooner rather than later with Euro 2024 on his mind.
It has been a bumpy ride since the 30-year-old starred in England’s run to the Euro 2020 final, with the defender falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford and then losing the captaincy.
And Maguire opened up on his frustration at not starting games for United this season.
“I have belief in my ability and what I have done in my career as every player should,” Maguire said.
“Every player who is on the bench should believe they should be starting, otherwise they wouldn’t be playing at a high level. I am no different.
“Listen, it’s been tough. I want to play games. I want to feel important to the club and I want to feel important to the rest of the team.
“At the moment I haven’t been playing anywhere near as much as I’d like. It’s the bottom line of it.
“I’ve just got to make sure I am ready to take the opportunities when they come along.”
Asked when game time becomes an issue and, given Euro 2024 is coming up, whether that could be sooner rather than later, said: “Yeah, of course.
“I mean, I’m not going to sit here all my life and play once every month and if it carries on then I’m sure myself and the club will sit down and have a chat about things.
“But, honestly, at the moment I’m fully focused on two games for England, two big games.
“Then I’m fully focused on fighting and trying to get back my place at Manchester United and helping the team climb up the league to where we should be.”
Maguire has kept his England place despite his struggles to break his way into Ten Hag’s line-up, making his first Premier League start of the campaign in Saturday’s 2-1 comeback win against Brentford.
“It’s not my decision whether I start the next game or not,” said the defender, who provided the assist for Scott McTominay’s winner. “I’m unsure on that. I’m sure in a couple of weeks I’ll go back and find out.
“Listen, if you look back on my last 15 to 20 starts for club and country, I would be happy to sit here and say ‘I’m really happy with my performances’.
“My record under this manager speaks for itself. I haven’t started as many games as I’d like, but my win percentage when I’ve played is ridiculously high.
Former Manchester United star Lee Sharpe has backed Maguire, insisting he’s still “a good player”, and claiming the media focus on the centre-back has been “farcical”.
Sharpe said: “I feel sorry for the bloke, to be fair, if I’m honest. The amount of criticism from the press, the media and social media has been unprecedented.
“You don’t turn into a bad player overnight. I know he’s made a few high-profile errors, but I still think he’s a good player. I still think he can defend, and I still think he’s good on the ball.
“It’s become a little bit farcical at times with the media following and coverage he’s getting every time he plays a game. They’re just waiting for him to make a mistake, and every mistake gets blown out of proportion.”
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