Manchester United captain Harry Maguire’s best and worst moments for club and country
- Cameron Loftus
- 8 March 2022
When Maguire joined Man Utd for £80million in 2019, he became the most expensive defender of all-time. The price tag also brought with it intense scrutiny, something he has not always coped well with.
A 4-1 loss to Manchester City at the weekend again put Maguire under the microscope, with the centre-back culpable for at least one of the City goals.
Now 29, it appears unlikely the former Leicester City man will ever justify his huge price tag. But although the Sheffield-born defender has endured his fair share of lows with the Red Devils, he has also experienced some highs, especially while on international duty. Planet Sport looks at the peaks and troughs of his time at United.
High: Being made club captain
When Ashley Young left Man United in January 2020, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed Maguire the captaincy, despite the centre-back having only been at Old Trafford for half a season.
Before officially being given the armband, Maguire had already led out United on 20 occasions during the first half of the campaign and Solskjaer said of his decision: "He's come in and been a leader of the group. I've been, not surprised, but I've been impressed by his leadership skills, so Harry will keep on wearing the armband."
Maguire has held the captaincy ever since, despite Cristiano Ronaldo's return, which has reportedly caused some friction within the Old Trafford dressing room.
Low: Sending off against Watford
In what proved to be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's final game in charge of the Red Devils, Maguire received his marching orders in an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to strugglers Watford.
With Watford already 2-1 up and Maguire having been booked, his afternoon went from bad to worse as a huge touch took the ball away from him, allowing former United player Tom Cleverley to nip in. Maguire was too slow to react and mistimed his slide tackle, leaving the referee with no choice but to send the Yorkshireman off.
To make matters worse, things blew up on social media hours later when Maguire was pictured out and about at a restaurant that same night. United fans were far from pleased as they believed Maguire should have spent some time at home mulling over his shocker. Presumably in a darkened room.
Harry Maguire went out partying last night after he got sent off and his team got battered 4-1 against Watford.
— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) November 21, 2021
Imagine if this was Paul Pogba… 😳 pic.twitter.com/MJ9NFQe8qa
High: Scoring in a World Cup quarter-final
England enjoyed a fantastic 2018 World Cup in Russia before eventually crashing out in the semi-finals to Croatia.
On a personal note, Maguire will have fond memories of the last-eight match with Sweden after he headed home his first ever international goal on the biggest stage of them all.
The powerful header from Ashley Young's 30th-minute corner helped Gareth Southgate's side to a 2-0 win to set up the semi-final meeting with Croatia. And even that started well…
Low: Horror return to the King Power
United's 4-2 loss to his former club Leicester City is a match Maguire will wish to erase from his memory after a shocking display which saw him at fault for all four opposition goals.
For the Foxes' first goal, Maguire tried to dribble out of defence and was dispossessed by Kelechi Iheanacho, who set up Youri Tielemans to expertly guide the ball into the top corner.
Maguire played Caglar Soyuncu onside for the Foxes' second and left Jamie Vardy in acres of space with the space of the penalty area to put away the third for Leicester.
His woeful afternoon was complete in injury time, when Maguire allowed Patson Daka get free at the back post to scramble home a fourth.
High: A magnificent first goal for Man United
Just nine days after being made captain, Maguire went full Paul Scholes against Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup, unleashing a shot that no one ever believed he was capable of.
The goal, which came in a 6-0 demolition of their lower-league opponents, came after he was allowed to stride out of defence. He then cut inside onto his right foot 25 yards out before unleashing a powerful drive into the top left of the helpless keeper's goal.
Low: Controversy in Mykonos
In August 2020, Maguire was involved in an altercation on the Greek island of Mykonos. He was arrested for aggravated assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery and was found guilty of all three charges soon after.
He was handed a suspended jail sentence of 21 months and 10 days as it was his first offence and the British media were all over it.
Proceedings are still not over and Maguire's legal team are seeking to get the conviction nullified.
High: European Championship runners-up
Maguire seems to save his best performances for when he plays in the Three Lions shirt and the Euro 2020 was no different.
After coming into the tournament nursing an injury, his first appearance of the tournament came in the final group match against Czech Republic.
He starred in the 2-0 knockout stage win over Germany and then scored in the 4-0 quarter-final victory against Ukraine.
Maguire also started the semi-final versus Denmark and the final against Italy, converting his penalty in the shootout defeat.
His impressive performances in the tournament earned him a place in the UEFA Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament.
Low: The Liverpool show
Earlier this season, Man United were humbled 5-0 by Liverpool at Old Trafford and Maguire contributed with a truly comical performance given a rock-bottom rating of 0 by the Manchester Evening News.
Liverpool exploited a poor defensive line for their first goal as Maguire stepped up and left himself in no man's land, creating a 3 vs 1 which ended with Naby Keita scoring the simplest of goals.
For the second, Maguire and Luke Shaw got in each other's way before Diogo Jota slid in to finish Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross.
Maguire blocked an initial shot from Mo Salah but was too slow to react to the loose ball as the Egyptian stole in to score the third past David de Gea. Their fourth was a similar story with Maguire too slow to close down Roberto Firmino, leaving the left side of United's defence exposed for Salah to score his second.
Another disastrous afternoon for the Sheffield-born defender was rounded off in the second half when a through ball from Jordan Henderson sliced open the defence for Salah to complete his hat-trick and complete United's joint-heaviest Premier League home defeat.
