In just over four years, Harry Maguire went from being the most expensive defender in world football to a laughing stock.
Things got so bad that he was regularly booed by his own fans and his manager wanted to sell him, but Maguire backed himself and trusted that things would change. He has been proven right.
Maguire had the Manchester United captaincy taken off him last year — with Bruno Fernandes being given the armband — having already lost his place in the starting XI. He became the brunt of countless online jokes.
Compilations of his errors were curated and posted on social media for rival supporters to laugh at. He had become a meme — and even United and England fans started to jeer him.
England manager Gareth Southgate was often criticised for continuing to pick Maguire despite the centre-back having lost his place in United’s starting XI. Maguire was a mainstay for the national team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, despite having started only three league games in the first half of the 2022-23 season (two of which United had lost: 2-1 at home against Brighton & Hove Albion and a 4-0 thumping at Brentford).
Southgate called Maguire’s treatment “an absolute joke” and said it made him “livid”.
Harry Maguire has endured a difficult time for his country as well as his club (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
United wanted to sell him to West Ham United in 2023, with manager Erik ten Hag deciding Maguire was surplus to requirements. The club accepted a £30million ($38m) offer, a huge decrease from the £80m United paid Leicester City to sign him in 2019.
But Maguire was stubborn and, understandably, wanted to control his future.
Even though a transfer was on the cards and it was clear he was not part of Ten Hag’s plans, Maguire could not agree a suitable exit settlement with United. At the time, he had two years remaining on a £190,000-per-week contract.
To leave for West Ham, where he would receive a reduced salary, he tried to negotiate a deal with United that would ensure he was not out of pocket. There was also a hesitancy in leaving Old Trafford for a side lower down the table.
Maguire knew that if he had joined West Ham, his chances of returning to one of the Premier League’s leading clubs would have diminished.
West Ham would have been his new level. They finished in the top seven in two of the past three seasons and won the Europa Conference League last year, but they have never played in the Champions League.
Danny Ings found his route back to the top closed after he joined Southampton from Liverpool in 2018. Ings had a great 2019-20 campaign at St Mary’s, scoring 22 Premier League goals, and had ambitions to return to one of the division’s leading clubs.
But Manchester City, Liverpool, United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea had other ideas, and the striker joined Aston Villa instead in 2021. He fell out of favour at Villa Park and was sold to West Ham in January 2023 — as Villa’s fortunes were turning under Unai Emery — and is yet to score a goal in 21 appearances (only six of which have been starts) in all competitions this season.
Maguire going to West Ham, or to a club of a similar size, might have meant following a similar trajectory. Once United had decided he wasn’t good enough, why would another ‘Big Six’ side think he would improve their team?
He only had to look to his left to see Luke Shaw, who went through a difficult spell at United, to understand patience can pay off.
Throughout Jose Mourinho’s time in charge, not a transfer window went past without Shaw seemingly being on the move. But he stayed in the face of criticism and a view that he would be better off elsewhere. Now he is considered to be indispensable and is a key player for Ten Hag.
So, no matter how bad his situation appeared to be at United, Maguire’s persistence has paid off.
Whether it was having the foresight to predict injury-hampered seasons for Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, or backing himself to outlast Ten Hag knowing players at Old Trafford often stay longer than the manager, the 30-year-old will feel vindicated.
With Martinez sidelined for at least eight weeks after sustaining medial collateral ligament damage to his right knee earlier this month, Ten Hag has needed to turn to Maguire.
Jonny Evans, 36, was ahead of Maguire in the United manager’s thoughts earlier in the season — with the Dutchman saying he wasn’t comfortable pairing Maguire with Varane — but Evans has not started a game since January 14.
Maguire was the best player on the pitch during his side’s 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday. His performance was further proof his resilience should be lauded. He completed more passes than any other United player (47 out of 59, according to Opta), won all seven of his aerial duels and won 11 of 12 duels overall. His header to Rasmus Hojlund led to the striker opening the scoring. There was also a standout performance against Sheffield United in October that led to United fans singing his name.
He is benefitting from Martinez’s misfortune and that is a major factor in his increased playing time, but he is taking his opportunities when they are given to him.
The fact he has less than 18 months remaining on his contract means questions about his future at United will continue, but he has shown he is capable of controlling his narrative.
Whether his long-term career is at Old Trafford or elsewhere, the defender’s reluctance to leave last summer, coupled with his performances in recent weeks, could lead to a better landing spot or, if Ten Hag was to be relieved from his post, an extended stay under a new manager with different ideas.
Maguire has found out it can pay to be stubborn, but you suspect he already knew that.
(Top photo: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
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