Two Manchester United football stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire are reportedly at loggerheads over the captaincy of the club. Recent reports claimed that Ronaldo is set to be named United’s permanent captain.
There are reports that the Manchester United squad has been divided over the alleged tussle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire. Most people at the club are reportedly backing Ronaldo for the captaincy while a few others are sticking with Harry Maguire to remain the club’s captain.
Initially, Ronaldo was said to be backing Harry to remain the captain of the club but the 5 time Ballon d’Or winner is reportedly not thinking towards that direction again.
To make matters worse for the English defender, the interim coach of the club, Ralf Rangnick has reportedly given Cristiano Ronaldo the go-ahead to help in mentoring the club’s players, especially the younger ones.
Rangnick has asked Ronaldo to mentor the young players within the squad, which is said to have led to further friction with Harry Maguire. [@DiscoMirror] #mufc
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) February 17, 2022
Through that, the 37-year-old Portuguese football icon has established himself as the most influential player in the locker room. It has gotten so bad that Maguire has had to take directives from Ronaldo which makes him feel like his status as the club’s captain has been undermined.
According to reports, Cristiano Ronaldo is set to replace Harry Maguire as the permanent captain of Man United. pic.twitter.com/VO1cJFLfmW
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) February 18, 2022
What we know about Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire captaincy tussle
Recall that the former coach of Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bought Harry Maguire from Leicester City for £80million in 2019. Months after the 28-year-old English defender joined Manchester United, coach Solskjaer made him the coach of the club.
Since then, most fans of the club have had reasons to criticize the performance of the English defender especially his erroneous style of defending.
Despite the criticism from both fans and pundits, Harry remained the captain of the club and has spent over two years leading the club’s first team.
However, since Cristiano Ronaldo return to Manchester United in August 2021, there have been a series of reports speculating that the Portuguese icon wants the captain’s armband.
Recently, reports claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire had to meet with coach Ralf Rangnick to resolve the lingering captaincy drama. But the outcome of the meeting could be in favor of Ronaldo.
🗞 Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire have held conversations with Rangnick about Maguire relinquishing the captain’s armband for the rest of the season. [@DiscoMirror]
— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) February 17, 2022
Also, a report surfaced recently that Marcus Rashford and Harry are not happy with the kind of influence Ronaldo has on other players at the club. Hence, they are reportedly ganging up against the Portuguese icon.
A United source told UK publication, the Mirror that: “Originally, Ronaldo was asking players to back Harry. But the problem is the manager now wants Ronaldo to mentor all these younger players.
“That’s left Harry in no man’s land, as he’s the captain and having to say and follow whatever Ronaldo says, to keep everything sweet.”
At the time of publishing this report, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire have not publicly reacted to the reported captaincy tussle between them.
