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Maguire: No rift with Ronaldo over Man Utd captaincy

Manchester United captain, Harry Maguire, has debunked claims of a dressing room battle between himself and Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo, over the club captaincy.

Reports had earlier claimed that Maguire and Ronaldo were embroiled in a power struggle over the captaincy at Old Trafford.

However, Maguire, while reacting to the reports via his Twitter handle on Friday, said there were no issues between himself and Ronaldo.

The centre-back tweeted: “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 need to make this one clear.

“We’re United and focused on Sunday. Enjoy your day, everyone,” he said.

Maguire has come under scrutiny for several below-par performances this season and a section of Manchester United supporters have suggested the armband should be taken away from him.

Criticism of the 28-year-old intensified over the last weekend as the Red Devils surrendered a 1-0 lead for the third game in a row to draw 1-1 against Southampton at Old Trafford.

However, Manchester United interim manager, Ralf Rangnick, said there was no reason to change his official leader on the pitch.

Maguire, who has made 132 appearances for the Red Devils, was handed the armband in January 2020 by the previous manager of the club, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, five months after he moved to Old Trafford in a world-record £80m transfer from Leicester City.

TheStar