StadiumPosts Logo
Stay upto date with notifications from Stadiumposts
Notifications can be managed in browser preferences

MAN UNITED SEND FIRM MESSAGE TO HARRY MAGUIRE AFTER AGREEMENT REACHED

Wayne Rooney & Peter Crouch defend Harry Maguire, calling the criticism he's faced "bullying." As the Man United defender enters the final year of his contract, his future at Old Trafford is uncertain.

Man United Send Firm Message to Harry Maguire After Agreement Reached
Harry Maguire only has eight months left on his contract at United - (Manchester United via Getty Images)

Harry Maguire has been treated unfairly at Manchester United, according to Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch. Having just entered the last year of his contract, the 32-year-old defender's future at Old Trafford is now uncertain.

Unless Maguire signs a new contract before then, international clubs will be able to start pre-contract negotiations with him in January regarding a summer free transfer. United will have to make a tough choice if the England international does not sign an extension.

The Reds will need to decide if they would rather cut their losses and recover a little portion of the £80 million they spent on Maguire's signing during the forthcoming January transfer window, or lose him at the end of the current campaign. The Daily Mail claims that although United is negotiating a new contract with the player, they have not yet made an offer.

According to the article, the conditions of the agreement, such as the duration of the contract, would determine Maguire's likelihood of accepting a wage reduction. Rooney and Crouch feel the Englishman has been treated unfairly, even though he has saved the Reds many times in the past.

After United defeated Liverpool 2-1, Rooney stated on his podcast: "Today demonstrates why he should be in the World Cup squad. And I mean it. He seems really significant to me.

"I believe that dealing with Harry's experiences would have been quite difficult for me. He was a meme for years, you know. Somewhere in Africa, I have seen him in Parliament, where they are making fun of him for being involved in it.

He is really resilient to have endured that, given how much he has had to cope with. After having his armband removed, he was ridiculed by others.

"You know, this man has been on the World Cup teams of the tournament and has been amazing for England and Man United, and it is just unfair and it was bullying," Rooney continued.

"He was being bullied everywhere, so you would have to say, 'You know what, that is a strong human being,' to have coped with that, persevered through it, and stuck with it."

"And I could not be happier for him because he and his family have overcome that and come out on the other side, demonstrating his skill, quality, and strength."

Crouch echoed the United legend's comments, singing from the same hymn sheet. The former striker for Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool stated on his podcast: "I am simply really, really happy for him.

"I have had a lot of grief and a lot of pain during my career, so I can somewhat understand what it is like to be low. I believe it went beyond what was appropriate for him to experience that kind of grief.

"Everything was wrong with the way he has been villainised at that club, including attacking his family, his mentality, and his appearance."

"I simply think it shows absolutely huge b******* to go [and perform] constantly," Crouch continued. Even during the match against Liverpool, some were asking, "Why is he playing?" The entire notion of being down on him first comes up all the time.

"Listen, he has been called out for his inadequacies on occasion, but I believe the stick went beyond football. Sincerely, I do not want to watch any Manchester United player score when he did.

When it was him, however, I kind of partly thought, 'Good for him, he kind of deserves this,' and I believe that many people in the football world share that sentiment.

EX-CAPTAIN NEVILLE CLAIMS SUBSTITUTIONS MADE MANCHESTER UNITED "WORSE" AGAINST WOLVES

Gary Neville slams Ruben Amorim’s "weird" substitutions and tactical shifts after Manchester United's 1-1 draw with bottom-side Wolves.

top-news
Was the halftime substitution a tactical error or an injury?

Gary Neville said that the performance of Manchester United in their match against winless Wolves was ‘the baddest of the bad.’

United would have moved fourth in the league with a win at Old Trafford last night, although Wolves, who had two points in 18 games before kickoff, ended their record of 11 straight losses with a 1-1 draw.

Amorim’s team had been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by a League Two team, Grimsby, in August, but Neville was convinced that United had hit rock bottom in a game that could have been even more one-sided were it not for two important saves by Senne Lammens.

“That was the baddest of the bad," the former United captain declared on the Gary Neville podcast.

“They weren’t just booed off at the final whistle. The fans waited in the stadium to continue to boo them. They’ve gone backwards.”

United had won at Newcastle 1-0 on Boxing Day, despite being plagued by an injury list that already lacked skipper Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, and Matthijs de Ligt, as well as three players on African Cup of Nations duty.

But they remained flat right from the first whistle, and the header by Ladislav Krejci just before the half bottled Joshua Zirkzee's deflected shot.

Amorim’s formation choice of 3-4-3 was brought into focus once more as the Portuguese opted to go back to his preferred tactic of four at the back against Newcastle.

“This isn’t right. I’ve watched enough of United over the last five or six weeks to know what looks right and what isn’t right,” Neville had declared 20 minutes into his commentary on Sky Sports.

“Because, when I see that we go back (to three at the back) after five minutes tonight, I’m thinking, no, Ruben, why have you done that?

"The manager has to look at that and think, I got that wrong. I complicated it."

However, Amorim decided to substitute Zirkzee at halftime and brought on an 18-year-old Jack Fletcher, who made his third appearance at the senior level.

Regarding substitutions made by Amorim, Neville further added, “They made Manchester United worse. Every single substitution was ridiculous.”

‘If Zirkzee was injured, and it was a tactical substitution, that was a very poor one.’ But Zirkzee isn't Eric Cantona, not by a long shot, and he had to get out there for physicality, for presence, for experience.”

SEE LISANDRO MARTINEZ’S FURIOUS REACTION AFTER MAN UTD’S SHOCK WOLVES DRAW

Lisandro Martinez demands more after Man Utd’s 1-1 draw with bottom-placed Wolves. United ended 2025 sixth in the Premier League.

top-news
Martinez slams United’s tactical mistakes

Stand-in captain Lisandro Martinez was mad that Manchester United dropped points against Wolves, who are at the bottom of the league.

United came into the last game of 2025 after a good win against Newcastle on Boxing Day and were expected to easily beat Wolves.

Joshua Zirkzee scored first for United, but they didn't take their chances. Ladislav Krejci's header tied the game for Wolves, 1-1.

It was only their third point in 19 games, and it stopped their 11-game losing streak. United fans booed at the end of the game.

When Martinez was asked if it felt like a disappointing point, he said, 100 percent.

We are very disappointed. We can't keep drawing or losing points at home. We have to win.

We want to be at the top, competing with the best.

We can't drop points in games like this. We just have to accept it and be hungry for the next game.

Martinez was captain again because Bruno Fernandes is still recovering from an injury.

When United coach Ruben Amorim was asked about injured players for the game against Leeds on Sunday, he didn't give much away. Leeds are really wanting to beat United for the first time since 2010.

Martinez said to MUTV, You can either make excuses, or you can be strong and say, 'We're dropping points, so we need to go for the next one and show what we can do.'

We need to work together and do the easy things to get the three points.

United is in sixth place in the league at the end of 2025, only two points behind Liverpool for the last Champions League spot. Liverpool has a game in hand.

They could be in a better position if they had been better in both boxes. Leeds has been playing well lately, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin doing great up front.

Martinez added, It's about us. I don't like to think about other teams.

I'm thinking about what we can do to get better as a team every day, and we have to learn from this game.

Premier League Standings

WhatsApp Read More News