Man Utd captain Harry Maguire suggests he is not 'properly appreciated' at the club

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has suggested he is not as appreciated for his club as he is for his country.

Maguire arrived at Old Trafford for £80 million back in 2019 and was handed the captain's armband less than a year later.

Although the 29-year-old continues to divide opinion, with a section of fans deeming him not fit to wear the shirt for club or country.

He has since fallen down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag, who has favoured the defensive pairing of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez this campaign.

For England however, the defender has established himself as one of the cornerstones of Gareth Southgate's side, playing a major part in the Three Lions' impressive tournament runs in recent years.

Maguire started England's 2-1 win over Italy in Naples on Thursday, but he was blamed for sloppily giving away possession in the build up to the Azzurri's goal.

Maguire: "I don't need to prove myself"

Speaking after the match, Maguire was asked if he feels 'properly appreciated'.

"For England, yes, I do," he responded. "Obviously, last season was difficult for the club, but, listen, I've proven myself to Gareth, who works with a wide range of centre backs.

"He has the choice of all the English centre-backs in the country and I play, every time I'm available, I’ve been in the team.

"I'm sure if you ask the rest of the lads they know what I bring to the team. I'm 30 years old but I shouldn't really need to prove myself at this level. I've over 50 caps. I'm England's top-scoring defender.

"I've played nearly 200 times for Manchester United, I've captained the club for three years now, but I do also understand that when you're the captain of Manchester United you do come under the most amount of scrutiny.

"Last season at club level, my performance wasn't good enough, alongside everybody else at club level, not just myself struggled. Everyone else struggled."

Manchester United have enjoyed a largely successful campaign, beating Newcastle 2-0 to lift the Carabao Cup. Whilst they edged Fulham 3-1 to reach the FA Cup semi-finals.

The club also stand in good stead to qualify for the Champions League, sitting third in the Premier League table with 12 games to go.

But Maguire has been limited to just 10 league appearances so far, with only two of those coming since the Qatar World Cup came to an end.

He will hope to start England's next game against Ukraine on Sunday, and show Red Devils fans what they are missing out on.

Topics: Harry Maguire, Manchester United, England, Football, Erik Ten Hag

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno