After he heroically headed the late winner for Manchester United at Anfield in front of 3,000 away fans on Sunday, Harry Maguire returned home and read his two daughters, aged seven and five, a bedtime story in their Cheshire house.
In years gone by, a younger Maguire would’ve gone out with teammates celebrating, but the 32-year-old is a family man now. Had Maguire told his daughters his own story it would have matched any fairy tale.
A working-class lad from Sheffield who became the world’s most expensive defender when he moved from Leicester to Manchester for £80 million in 2019, he rose to become a hugely important player for United in 2021 – before a drop in form for six months saw him abused to levels that went way beyond the pale, even by the low standards of some online fans.
Twice he was booed by tiny pockets of supporters at pre-season games, in Melbourne and Dublin in 2022, but at Old Trafford the fans had his back. The problem is that most fans are not at Old Trafford, and there was also his England career, where abuse fermented on social media bubbled over into real life.
An away game for England at Hampden Park in September 2023 was the worst, with Scotland fans booing his every touch.
Maguire’s mother Zoe, who goes to almost every United game with her husband Alan, tweeted: “As a mum seeing the level of negative and abusive comments which my son is receiving from some fans, pundits and the media is disgraceful and totally unacceptable to any walk of life, never mind someone who works his socks off for club and country.” And she was right.
Maguire went from playing 55 and 52 times in his first two seasons for United to playing 37 and then 31 in seasons three and four. His confidence dipped, his performances too, but he never once pleaded pity and even when he was barely starting, chose to compliment others. The stats are there: United have a higher win rate and score more goals when Maguire starts than not.
And that excessive criticism which saw him go from being a comedic meme favourite for online haters and real world Ghanian Members of Parliament has melted away as he performed well and scored key goals.
Maguire’s last six goals for United were Sunday’s 84th-minute winner against Liverpool, August’s 89th-minute equaliser at Grimsby, a winner in the 121st minute versus Lyon in an April Europa League tie, a winner in the 47th minute at home to Ipswich, a 93rd-minute winner against Leicester City and an equaliser in the 91st minute away to Porto. These were goals of which dad Alan, once a semi-pro goalscorer whom Harry claims gets better with every story told, would approve.
The memes have come full circle, with Maguire lightheartedly cast as anyone from Diego Maradona to Jesus Christ. He finds them funny.
Maguire is out of contract at the end of this season and is free to talk to foreign clubs from January 1. If United want him to stay, they are unlikely to want to get to January without a deal, but Maguire’s yet to be offered a new contract and no formal talks have taken place between United and his representatives. He’s happy at United and settled near Manchester.
It’s up to Manchester United, who are keen to sign a central defender in forthcoming windows, to decide if they want to keep Maguire, what they think he’s worth and for how long.
It’s a football decision for the people paid to make football decisions. And Maguire, who has suitors, must also decide, though in August he said: “I have something in my mind about what I want to do and what I want to be.
“I don’t want to put it out there to everybody, but it’s an amazing club to play for and you’d be silly if you wanted to jump out of it as soon as you could.
“I think there was a couple of clubs who maybe enquired or spoke with them and they got a quick response. Like I said, we’re in a good place, positive as a club and I feel like the hierarchy has come in and Jason [Wilcox] and the manager [Ruben Amorim], I feel like they’re taking it in the right direction. It’s in a completely different place in terms of the structure behind the management staff.”
Maguire is respected and valued by the bosses at United and he is also close friends with teammates Tom Heaton, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes. He was good mates with the departed Raphael Varane too.
He speaks well in the dressing room; he’s calm and delivers when asked. He’s started three of United’s eight Premier League games so far this season.
“This could be my last appearance at Anfield with Manchester United as I’m in the final year of my contract,” he said after Sunday’s celebrations. “That’s why it was so important for me to come here and win.”
Important for him, the club and for his teammates who went away to the English champions and won for the first time since 2016.
