Harry Maguire is latest Manchester United man to repel Cristiano Ronaldo ‘war’ talk
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire says the club are “united” and has denied reports of a power struggle with Cristiano Ronaldo.
United are in the midst of a disappointing season, with a top-four finish the best they can hope for in the Premier League. Tuesday’s midweek win over Brighton propelled Ralf Rangnick’s men into fourth place, but their season has been underwhelming.
Maguire for one has been below par and it has been reported that the United skipper has felt undermined by Ronaldo’s influence, with his continued role as captain questioned.
A number of papers carried the story on Friday. The Daily Star and Daily Mirror’s back page headlines were “disunited”. While the Daily Express carried the headline “civil war” besides a picture of Ronaldo and Maguire.
Marcus Rashford has already dismissed talk of a dressing room divide involving Ronaldo earlier this week. German outlet Bild claimed “players like Harry Maguire, Marcus Rushford & Co are irritated that Ronaldo wants to lead the dressing room with his own clique. there is a risk of a split in the team Man Utd”.
STAR: Dis-United #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/99NHdkmRLe
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 17, 2022
Rashford though, who was a late sub on Tuesday night, condemned the talk.
He tweeted: “Are we just making it up as we go along now then? Please stop looking for divides.”
But now Maguire has taken to Twitter in reply to the Mirror’s report.
I’ve seen a lot of reports about this club that aren’t true and this is another. Not going to start posting about everything that is written but I needed to make this one clear. We’re united and focused on Sunday. Enjoy your day everyone @ManUtd https://t.co/YxLhQn8pqf
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) February 18, 2022
“I’ve seen a lot of reports about this club that aren’t true and this is another,” he posted.
“Not going to start posting about everything that is written but I needed to make this one clear. We’re united and focused on Sunday. Enjoy your day everyone.”
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Neville ‘disgusted’
The former United full-back claimed he knew where the talk was coming from with agents and PR agencies meddling in club affairs.
A remarkable report from ESPN claimed United’s stars had rebelled against Rangnick and his staff’s training methods. The report detailed how they had even compared his assistant manager, American Chris Armas, to fictional coach Ted Lasso.
And last week Rangnick was directly asked about talk of unrest at Old Trafford.
“[I’ve heard] nothing, to be honest,” Rangnick said on the issue. “I haven’t read any newspapers or those articles.
“The way we have developed is obvious, the work we do on the pitch and the video analysis.”
Rangnick’s methods are rumoured to be ‘old fashioned’ with 49-year-old American Armas in the firing line.
READ MORE: Rangnick wowed by speedy Man Utd loanee and hands star major role for next season – report
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