Nemanja Matic has discussed the ongoing criticism of his former Manchester United teammate Harry Maguire.
The centre-back has been under the spotlight from the moment he signed for United due to his world-record price tag of £80 million back in 2019.
He was then opened up to more scrutiny when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named him club captain just six months into his United career. The pressure was on for him to perform.
Over the past four years, Maguire has undoubtedly had some quality performances in Red, but the focus has always been on the games where he’s made mistakes, or not performed to the highest level. That’s always going to be the case with a transfer fee that high hanging over your head, unfortunately.
It now seems like there’s no way back for the 30-year-old – he can’t do right for doing wrong.
At international level, Maguire is one of Gareth Southgate’s most-trusted lieutenants and is always expected to receive an England call-up. His showings at the World Cup 2018, 2022 and Euro 2020 were outstanding, so it’s a shame that things just aren’t clicking between him and United.
Matic on Maguire
Matic, who is now enjoying life in Serie A, weighed in on the situation with Maguire and believes that social media has played a significant part in tarnishing his image.
He said (via Football Daily): “I can understand why he’s playing for England because he’s a great player. When he signed for United, I remember [in] his first season he played almost every game, 60-65 games, and he was one of the best players.
“The problem is today when you play football, when you play two or three games not great, then with social media and everything that we have today then it’s easy for everyone to criticise you. Maybe that affects him, for sure, but he has to think only about his job because, in football, everything [can] change in a few weeks.
“His situation doesn’t look great at the moment, he needs to be focused to get his chance every time he plays. Harry’s a very professional football player, [a] very good player, and we will see what the future brings for him.”
🗣️ "His first season he played almost every game and he was one of the best players." 🔴
Nemanja Matić believes criticism on social media may have affected Harry Maguire at Manchester United pic.twitter.com/31CP4y1dbm
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 2, 2023
Footage courtesy of Football Daily.
