Manchester United captain Harry Maguire ADMITS he liked an Instagram post about wantaway Cristiano Ronaldo being ‘upset’ at a 25 per cent wage cut, insisting he clicked the button in error!
- United captain Harry Maguire liked an Instagram post about Cristiano Ronaldo
- The post said that Ronaldo was unhappy at United players’ 25 per cent pay cut
- United fans were furious at Maguire appearing to address a private club issue
- Maguire has since ‘admitted it was him – but insists he clicked the button in error’
- The club were rocked this week by Ronaldo refusing to go to pre-season training
Harry Maguire has been left red-faced after admitting he liked an Instagram post about Cristiano Ronaldo’s anger at Manchester United salary cuts – before quickly backtracking and insisting it was done in error.
Fans have slammed Maguire and questioned his captain’s credentials after the embarrassing gaffe, in which he reacted to a post about United’s reported 25 per cent pay cuts after missing out on next season’s Champions League.
Maguire was quick to pour water on the outrage on Wednesday afternoon, admitting to BBC Sport that he did like the photo – but immediately removed it because he had clicked in error.
There had already been calls for the England defender to lose the armband at Old Trafford after a difficult season, and those cries have now increased following his social media blunder.
SportBible’s post on Instagram was a picture of Ronaldo, alongside a caption explaining that he is ‘reportedly upset with the 25% wage cut given to Manchester United players’ at the end of the season.
Harry Maguire says he accidentally liked an Instagram post about Cristiano Ronaldo
United fans have hit out at Maguire (left) after he liked a post about Ronaldo’s frustrations
Supporters argued Maguire is ‘not fit to be Manchester United’s captain’ after the blunder
Underneath the post, it has been liked by Maguire’s official account, leading to much anger from United fans at his decision to publicly react to a behind-the-scenes issue.
One fan wrote: ‘Harry Maguire shouldn’t play one more game for Manchester United,’ while another added: ‘A joke of a captain,’ before tagging the player himself.
One other equally furious supporter added: ‘Harry Maguire is easily the worst player to captain Manchester United. Embodies the awful standards at the club.’
While another noted: ‘Harry Maguire liking posts like these is what you call unprofessional behaviour. He is no way fit to be Manchester United’s captain!’
This latest incident is just the latest for new boss Erik ten Hag to deal with after United’s return to pre-season training.
The week has already been dominated by the absence of Ronaldo, who has refused to return to Carrington as he bids to engineer a summer move away.
Maguire returned to pre-season training at Carrington on Monday – but Ronaldo did not
Other fans have labelled Maguire a ‘joke’ of a captain, and ‘easily the worst’ captain at the club
Citing ‘family reasons’, the Portuguese has not joined back up with his team-mates after the summer break, leaving the likes of Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Napoli on red alert.
Maguire has returned, meanwhile, but he may now also face the wrath of Ten Hag if the manager doesn’t take kindly to his social media activity.
At the end of the week, United will fly to Bangkok to face Liverpool in their opening match of pre-season, before heading Down Under for games against Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
They then return to Europe for a showdown with Atletico Madrid in Oslo, although it is yet to be seen whether Ronaldo is present for any of the five matches.
Ronaldo skipped Manchester United pre-season training once again on Wednesday morning
Ten Hag (centre) had planned for Ronaldo to be part of his squad next season before this news
