.png)
Cristiano Ronaldo should be given the captain's armband from Harry Maguire for the remainder of the 2021/22 season, according to Micah Richards.
The 29-year-old centre-back, who became the world's most expensive defender when he joined Manchester United for £80 million, has been accused of not showing enough consistency in recent months.
That being said, England manager Gareth Southgate has decided to back the former Leicester defender with a place in their latest squad to face Switzerland and Ivory Coast this month.
Advert
“He’s been a key part of the starting XI that got us to a World Cup semi-final and a Euros final," Southgate said. "There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s one of our best centre-backs.”
Despite the public backing of Southgate, questions continue to be asked of Maguire's disappointing club form.
And former Manchester City full-back Micah Richards believes the captain's armband should be passed over to United's top goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Advert
"Certainly, Harry is going through a difficult period of form," Richards said in his Daily Mail column.
"There is nothing wrong with casting a critical eye towards a player when they aren’t reaching the levels you expect and I wouldn’t be taken seriously if I suggested that all was currently well with his game.
"It’s not my role to defend people, but the reason I feel so passionately about why the captaincy should be moved on to Ronaldo — for the time being — is based on everything Harry is experiencing on a personal level."
Last week, Richards' fellow pundit Jamie Carragher dissected Maguire's role in Atletico Madrid's winner on Tuesday night before admitting the Manchester United captain is currently going through "the worst moment in his career."
Advert
"The Manchester United captain who cost £80million was taken off in the game," Carragher told CBS Sports.
"He is going through the worst moment in his career right now. We all have that moment, I can picture it now when I was playing.
"This is something that Harry Maguire is going through right now and he has to get out of it very quickly otherwise he won’t be at the club because the standards at Manchester United are so high."
Carragher added: "Of course he wants to [get out of it] but his head will be all over the place, he is getting criticism left right and centre. He’ll be criticised again – I think the crowd actually cheered when he went off. Which isn’t a nice thing for anyone.
Advert
"I’ve always been a fan of Harry Maguire. He gets criticised because he cost £80m. Virgil van Dijk cost £75m and is the best defender in the world.
"Harry Maguire is not that but he doesn’t set the price. He had a great summer with England at the Euros but this season has been a disaster and he almost just needs to get to the end of the season and just forget about football and get away.
"He's having a really tough time. And every decision he makes, he's probably overthinking it."
Ahmed Elmohamady believes his former Hull City teammate isn't at "the level" to be captain at Old Trafford.
Advert
“Harry was with me in Hull City and, in my opinion, he doesn’t have the level to be the Manchester United captain," the Egyptian told beIN Sports.
“Man Utd need a player with a strong personality and I hope that the next manager will give the captaincy to Ronaldo if he stays.”
Thoughts on the captaincy situation surrounding Maguire?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Harry Maguire, Cristiano Ronaldo, Micah Richards, Premier League, Manchester United
