Ole Gunnar Solskjaer received some heavy criticism for the £80 million signing of Harry Maguire and the decision to hand the defender the captaincy almost straight away.
The defender, who United signed from Leicester City in the summer of 2019, was one of the players heavily criticised for his performances at the club, especially as the club captain.
Solskjaer, speaking to The Athletic, has made a rather startling admission over the captaincy situation at Old Trafford.
The Norwegian boss was dismissed from United during the autumn of 2021 and has spoken in depth about the job for the first time.
Players refused captaincy
According to the Norwegian, some players refuted the club captaincy and you wonder if that is why Maguire was awarded the captaincy so soon after arriving at the club.
“I won’t name names, but I was very disappointed when a couple turned down the chance to be captain,” the Norwegian revealed.
It is quite clear that as time went on some of the United players threw in the towel at the club and weren’t all pulling in the right direction.
This, in the end, ultimately led to his downfall at the club before being eventually sacked just a few months after signing a new contract.
Maguire justification
“Harry Maguire – it’s a disgrace that he’s getting so much abuse. I feel sorry for him, but he’s a strong lad and I hope it turns for him,” Solskjaer said.
The defender, for the first two seasons at the club, was a consistent defender and was a stalwart for Solskjaer and remained as the club captain.
The decision to award Maguire the captaincy has been vindicated if indeed some players turned down the opportunity to be club captain.
Maguire stepped up to the plate and despite receiving a huge amount of criticism from the media, was the only player willing to step up and be the captain of the club, when nobody else would.
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