Harry Maguire has hit out at reports that he and Cristiano Ronaldo are currently embroiled in a row over the Manchester United captaincy.
The Daily Mirror reported on Friday that there was an ongoing power struggle between the current skipper and his superstar Portuguese team-mate as the club continues to labour under the temporary stewardship of interim coach Ralf Rangnick.
It was the latest in a long line of suggestions that all is not well behind the scenes among the oft-criticised playing group at Old Trafford, with claims that Maguire is feeling marginalised and undermined and is reluctant to give up the armband to ease the pressure following his own run of poor form.
Maguire has held the United captaincy on a permanent basis since January 2020, when Ashley Young left to join Inter Milan.
The England centre-back has now taken to social media to publicly dismiss those aforementioned claims ahead of Sunday’s key trip to face bitter rivals Leeds at Elland Road.
I’ve seen a lot of reports about this club that aren’t true and this is another. Not going to start posting about everything that is written but I needed to make this one clear. We’re united and focused on Sunday. Enjoy your day everyone 💪🏻 @ManUtd https://t.co/YxLhQn8pqf
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) February 18, 2022
“I’ve seen a lot of reports about this club that aren’t true and this is another,” Maguire tweeted to his 1.8 million followers.
“Not going to start posting about everything that is written but I needed to make this one clear. We’re united and focused on Sunday. Enjoy your day everyone.”
United’s fractured season to date has been littered with leaks and reports over dressing room splits and unrest, with the situation not improving under Rangnick’s tenure.
Ronaldo finally broke his six-game goal drought by netting in Tuesday’s 2-0 home win over Brighton that snapped a run of three successive frustrating draws and left them two points clear of West Ham in fourth spot in the Premier League and four ahead of Arsenal, who have three games in hand.
The Red Devils were also knocked out of the FA Cup at the fourth-round stage by Middlesbrough earlier this month, losing to the Championship side on penalties at Old Trafford.
