Harry Maguire asserts that he is qualified to compete at the highest level, that he has nothing to prove, and that all of his teammates in the England squad concur with him.
At the club level, Maguire has been demoted to a backup central defender because Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, and even Luke Shaw are preferred by Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag over Maguire. Most of his outings have been in cup competitions.
But Maguire still has his manager's backing when playing for England. Despite criticism from the public and Maguire's declining impact at the club level, Gareth Southgate has repeatedly selected him.
Harry Maguire asserts that he has consistently shown that he deserves at the highest level, and also implied that he has been used as a scapegoat for United's disappointing performance last season.
“For England, yes, I do [feel appreciated],” Maguire said.
“Obviously, last season was difficult for the club but listen, I’ve proven myself to Gareth, who works with a wide range of centre-backs. He has the choice of all the English centre-backs in the country and every time I’m available, I’ve been in the team. I’m sure if you ask the rest of the lads they know what I bring to the team."
“I feel like I’m nearly 30 years old but I shouldn’t really need to prove myself at this level. I’ve made over 50 caps," he continued.
"I’m England’s top-scoring defender. I’ve played nearly 200 times for Manchester United. I’ve captained the club for three years now but I do also understand that when you are the captain of Manchester United you do come under the most amount of scrutiny."
"Last season at club level, my performance wasn’t good enough. Alongside everybody else at club level, not just myself.”
Although Harry Maguire's name was frequently chanted by England's traveling crowd in Naples, England Coach Gareth Southgate was criticized for continuing to select him despite the fact that he wasn't appearing in every club game. In defense of himself, Maguire noted that Manchester United's results haven't really suffered because of his appearance.
“I know people obviously look at me not playing but when I’ve played, I think in my last eight or nine starts for Manchester United we have won,” he said.
“I can’t remember losing a game for Manchester United, it must be the third week of the season. It’s probably my last appearance where I’ve lost the game. So my influence is still there. But of course, I love playing for my country and in 50-odd caps I feel like I’ve never let my country down.”
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