14 September 2023 , 09:10
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Jamie Carragher claims Cristiano Ronaldo's reported power struggle with Harry Maguire saw his "undermining gain momentum" as he called for the defender to be taken out of the firing line.
The centre-half has featured just once for Manchester United this season, coming on as a sub in the loss at Arsenal. Despite that he remains a regular with England as Gareth Southgate stands by his player, giving him minutes in the win over Scotland on Tuesday night.
Maguire though put through his own net as his lack of match sharpness and fitness told. Criticism has continued to come his way with some suggesting it is irresponsible of Southgate to continue picking up when he's so short of game time.
The defender's past two seasons in Manchester have by no means further his case with the defender dropped and stripped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag. Prior to that it was Ronaldo who appeared to challenge his authority, which Carragher sees as a watershed moment.
He wrote in the Telegraph : "It was a similar story when Cristiano Ronaldo returned and reports emerged about power struggles in the United dressing room. That is when the undermining of Maguire gained momentum."
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It was reported last year that Ronaldo felt he would be a better choice of captain at Old Trafford after Maguire's slump in form coincided with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's exit and Ralf Rangnick's temporary appointment.
The 30-year-old doesn't look as if he's going to get opportunities at United unless there's a major injury crisis, further shining a light on his decision to snub a move to West Ham in the summer. Maguire sought a pay off which ultimately saw the switch fail to materialise.
Harry Maguire was captain at Man Utd when Cristiano Ronaldo returnedCarragher maintains it is "unfeasible for a centre-back to go into the next Euros when they have not been a regular for their club for two years." Southgate opted to pick Maguire for the World Cup in Qatar less than a year ago despite his lack of minutes but may face an even tougher decision come this summer's major tournament.
The Sky Sports pundit added: "I do not see how continually putting him on such a stage without regular, high class club football will help him get back to the level he was. This has to stop, first and foremost, for Maguire’s sake."
The England boss has come out in defence of Maguire in the aftermath of the Scotland win, hammering the treatment he faces. "It's a joke. Not by the Scottish fans but by our own commentators, pundits or whatever it is. They've created something that's beyond anything I have ever seen," he said.