Harry Maguire’s former team-mate Ahmed Elmohamady has hit out at the Manchester United skipper and says he doesn’t have the level required to wear the armband.
The England international has been criticised several times for his below par performances and individual errors this campaign leading to calls from some for Ralf Rangnick to strip him of the captaincy.
Elmohamady, who spent three years at Hull from 2014 to 2017 with the defender, says he can’t handle the pressure and feels Cristiano Ronaldo should be the leader.
‘Harry was with me in Hull City and, in my opinion, he doesn’t have the level to be the Manchester United captain,’ he said.
‘Man United need a player with a strong personality and I hope that the next manager will give the captaincy to Ronaldo if he stays.
‘Ronaldo can handle this responsibility and pressure; however, Maguire can’t handle this pressure. ‘So I think that the pressure he has by wearing the captain’s armband is affecting his performances.
‘Maguire performed really well with Leicester, a team that competes to be in the top six of the Premier League and maybe this is his level.
‘He doesn’t have the level to play for the biggest team in the history of England.’
While Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in United’s 3-2 victory over Tottenham on Saturday to keep their top-four hopes alive, Maguire still ended up putting the ball in his own net.
Maguire’s outstretched leg diverted the ball beyond David de Gea from a Tottenham cross but United legend Roy Keane, who has criticised the player in the past, did not put the blame on him.
‘You can’t be too critical of Maguire,’ Keane said. ‘I’ve been critical of him, but he’s doing his best. ‘It’s an honest mistake and these things happen in football.’
