Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has revealed on social media that he has been stripped of the captaincy by manager Erik ten Hag.
The England defender struggled for game time last season after going through a bad patch of form. In Maguire’s absence on the pitch Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes was handed the armband.
With Fernandes impressing in the role, and Maguire’s loss of confidence and lack of game time, speculation was rife that the former Sporting Lisbon man would be given the responsibility of leading the club on a permanent basis.
On Instagram on Sunday, Maguire revealed Ten Hag had told him his decision.
“After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain,” Maguire wrote.
“He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt. So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband,” he continued.
“Since the day I took on the role, three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date. It’s one of the greatest honours in club football. I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful – on and off the field.
“I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjær for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support.”
Fernandes is thought by many to be the leading candidate to replace the former Leicester defender as captain.
IOL Sport