Harry Maguire has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo, despite reports from last season stating that a rift had developed between the two Manchester United team-mates.
The superstar attacker was said to be unhappy with Maguire's role as club captain, as United's season fell apart. Both players featured heavily as the Red Devils amassed the lowest points total in their Premier League history, missing out on a place in the Champions League in the process.
Despite Maguire enduring a challenging campaign on the pitch, both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his interim replacement Ralf Rangnick opted to keep him as their skipper. If either had opted for a change, then Ronaldo would have been the leading contender to replace him.
With their campaign suffering from poor performances, the BBC claimed a split developed in the dressing room. Some players wanted the heavily-experienced Ronaldo to take over, having been captain of his country, as well as Real Madrid and Juventus.
But Maguire has now moved to shutdown any suggestion that there had been a falling out between him and Ronaldo. Instead, the defender hailed the attacker for what he brings to the United dressing room.
"Cristiano's a magnificent player and magnificent character to have around us. I know what it's like to have a lot of media speculation around myself. But he takes the majority of it. Everything he does is scrutinised to the nth degree," he told Sky Sports.
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"That's what you get when you play for this club, the size of the club. On the other hand, when things are good, you get a lot of praise, so that's football, that's the sport that we play. Obviously there's a line that can be crossed and we can do a little bit better in thsi country to enable that."
Back in June, it had been claimed that Maguire was determined to keep hold of the captaincy. New boss Erik ten Hag has confirmed he will keep the armband and further backed Maguire when he was booed during a pre-season win over Crystal Palace.
“Maguire we heard but you see, if you perform, it slows down. I think he, the team, impressed by the way we played. I don’t think it’s the [thing] to find out if I understand it. It’s about how we can change it. So it’s the team and Harry himself by performing. That is what we’re working on; that is the only focus,” Ten Hag said.
Ronaldo meanwhile has been linked with a departure from United for much of the summer. But Ten Hag has insisted that he will be staying at Old Trafford and play a key part in United's new-look team.
“How do I feel about starting the season with Ronaldo? I'm really happy. I had told you before: we planned with him for the season. We have a top striker and I'm really happy he's here," Ten Hag said.
"He's in the squad and we stick to the plan. I think I'm totally satisfied with the whole team, and they are really working good. It's a good culture and Cristiano is working really good, really tough and hard."
