8 stars including Arsenal and Liverpool skippers who lost captaincy like Maguire
Harry Maguire might have been brutally stripped of the captaincy by boss Erik ten Hag - but the call was a straightforward one for the Manchester United manager.
The England defender had found his first team opportunities limited last season, and has been widely touted to leave the club amid interest from West Ham. Maguire reacted with a statement voicing his disappointment but also vowing to continue to give 100% in club colours.
And he can perhaps console himself by dint of the fact the saga hasn't made the dramatic headlines of many others who have been stripped before him. There has seemingly been no explosive fallout or disciplinary issues surrounding the 30-year-old, simply a football related decision.
From kneeing an opponent in the back to get sent off, to a one man sit-down protest, to failing to report for duty, Mirror Football looks back at eight notorious decisions to relieve a player of captaincy duties. And they range from bizarre to brilliant.
William Gallas
Arsene Wenger raised eyebrows when he opted for William Gallas as captain after the departure of Thierry Henry in 2007 - and then gave the Frenchman a fair few lifelines.
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There was the famous sit-down protest following a defeat at Birmingham in February 2008, followed by not-so-subtle criticisms of his teammates in his autobiography. After a number of first team players made their disdain clear, Wenger eventually made the call to take the arm band away.
Gallas was to walk out as skipper again at the Emirates one more time in 2010. Ironically though, he was in Tottenham colours, and was able to celebrate a 3-2 win in front of his former employers.
Sami Hyypia
Gerard Houllier could be as ruthless as he could be gentle and charming - and this was evident in his treatment of Liverpool legend Sami Hyypia.
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In the absence of the injured Jamie Redknapp, the Finish centre back shared the captaincy honour with Robbie Fowler and lifted the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup in a glorious 2000/01 season. The following a year, he took sole ownership of the armband, but when his form dropped a year later, Houllier didn't hang around in replacing him with Steven Gerrard.
Hyypia openly admitted to reporters he wasn't happy about the decision, but to his credit, it didn't affect his commitment in red. And nor did it tarnish his club legacy, part of the 2005 Champions League winning team in Istanbul.
Joey Barton
Having led QPR to survival in 2011/12 in their first season back in the Premier League, in normal circumstances Joey Barton's status as club captain wouldn't have been questioned.
These were not normal circumstances. During THAT final day defeat at Man City, which proved irrelevant to the Hoops as they survived anyhow, Barton was was red carded for violent conduct after elbowing Carlos Tevez.
He wasn't done there, kicking Sergio Aguero and jostling with other players in what he later justified as an attempt to get an opponent sent off for retaliation as well. It all culminated in an FA fine, the docking of six weeks' wages, a 12-game ban, and a prompt loan move to Marseille.
Granit Xhaka
Unlike William Gallas, there were no silent sit down protests from Granit Xhaka at Arsenal - although that may have been a better option than the behaviour which cost him the captaincy.
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Granit Xhaka's outburst at fans saw him get stripped of the Arsenal captaincy (2019 Visionhaus)Made skipper by Unai Emery at the start of the 2019/20 season, then campaign was just two months old when a misfiring Xhaka was subbed off against Crystal Palace to a chorus of boos from his own fans. Not one to back down, he replied to the home faithful via gestures and shouting "f**k off."
Unsurprisingly, that was the end of his stint at captain. Surprisingly, he would go on to repair his relationship with the fans, and the club, before leaving for Bayer Leverkusen this summer.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
So who picked up the mantle after Xhaka? Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang.
An inspired choice? Initially it seemed so, with the striker lifting the FA Cup with the club in 2020 having himself delivered an inspirational final performance at Wembley. He was duly rewarded with a bumper contract, and it all went downhill from there.
The goals dried up in 2020/21, and the Gabon star was dropped for the north London derby in March 2021 after reporting late for the game. Further controversies followed, and eventually Mikel Arteta grew tired of the drama and made his call. Piers Morgan aside, few can argue it wasn't justified.
Tyrone Mings
It was one of the stranger captaincy sagas.
Steven Gerrard removed the arm band from Tyrone Mings (Getty Images)There had been precious little debate over the position of Tyron Mings as Aston Villa club captain, when 12 months ago then Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard decided to pick a battle with his centre back. He removed the captaincy from the England international in favour of John McGinn, claiming he wanted Mings to focus purely on form.
The player refused to condemn the call publicly, but ultimately had the last laugh. He's still at Aston Villa and playing in Europe next season - Gerrard is now managing in Saudi Arabia having been sacked by the Birmingham club just three months after changing his leader.
Barry Ferguson
Barry Ferguson's second stint at Rangers wasn't supposed to go like this.
Having resigned at Ibrox in 2005, he had already been stripped of the captaincy once by Paul Le Guen before being reinstated following the arrival of Ian Durrant. But in April 2009, the honour was to be taken away for the final time after a heavy hotel drinking session with Scotland teammate Allan McGregor, with both players making obscene gestures.
Ferguson was duly stripped of the captain's armband for club and country. Two months later, he left Rangers for Birmingham City, with his legacy in Glasgow unquestionably tainted.
John Terry
Few players have lost a captaincy honour in more unsavoury circumstances than John Terry.
John Terry clashes with Anton Ferdinand back in 2011 ((Photo by Frank Coppi/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images))It was the QPR v Chelsea clash in the 2011/12 season which instigated a racism row, with Terry alleged to have made a racist remark to Anton Ferdinand. Prior to legal proceedings starting, the FA took the England arm band from him and then duly found him guilty int heir own hearing.
He was later acquitted in court, but the FA sanctions remained. Terry did represent his country again in Euro 2012, but duly retired from the international stage thereafter and continued to lead Chelsea.
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