Harry Maguire has revealed how criticism of his performances for club and country has taken a heavy toll.
You can tell whenever Maguire plays now that he has something stuck in the back of his mind. He looks nowhere near as assured as he once did, but hopefully playing for England at the World Cup can help him bounce back to his best.
The Manchester United skipper has lost his place in Erik ten Hag’s regular starting line-up following the arrival of Lisandro Martinez. In an ideal world without injuries and niggles, Raphael Varane is the one to start alongside the Argentine, while Maguire sits on the bench.
I’m not sure how long this can continue but there has already been suggestions that Maguire will be sold next summer. He was still included in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for the World Cup.
However, in an interview with The Times, Maguire admitted he found it difficult to ignore his critics.
“I don’t really like feeling sorry for myself but it’s difficult not to dwell sometimes,” he said.
“I think people see footballers as robots who don’t have emotions, but of course we have emotions. We’re disappointed and we’re hurt when we don’t play well.”
Maguire has been booed by England fans over the past year and we all know what they’re like whenever the Three Lions crash out of a major tournament.
