Maguire remains Manchester United’s captain. He has achieved a lot of success, explained the Hag of his decision. What about Ronaldo?

Manchester United are preparing for the new season under a new coach and he sat down in front of reporters for a press conference on Monday. Erik ten Hag confirmed that he will not be changing the captain. Besides, he spoke about the situation surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo and transfers in general.

Maguire remains captain despite criticism

It was the summer of 2019 when Manchester United paid Leicester a now barely believable €87 million for Harry Maguire. He came to the club as one of the best central defenders in the league, who also shone in the national team.

But his time at Old Trafford turned into a nightmare. Maguire makes a lot of mistakes and his performances are not exactly steady. Fans have made him the lightning rod on which they blame every Red Devils failure. There have been many funny compilations that have a clear goal – to laugh at the English stopper.

Many hoped that with the arrival of a new coach, which is Erik ten Hag, Maguire might struggle to make the line-up or lose his captain’s armband. Except that won’t happen. In fact, at the first press conference, the Dutch coach announced that Maguire has his confidence and will remain the captain of the team.

“Of course I still have to get to know all the players properly, it takes time. But Harry has been the captain for a long time and has achieved many successes, so I have no doubt about this decision,” said Hag.

What will happen with Ronaldo?

In recent days and weeks, few things have been discussed more than the future of the Portuguese star. Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly wants to leave Manchester United as he longs to play in the Champions League. Chelsea are said to be interested in him, and there is also speculation of contact with Barcelona or PSG.

The speculation gained momentum when Ronaldo missed several training sessions. In addition, he has not taken part in pre-season training with the team. He apologised for family reasons. The coach ten Hag, however, denies that perhaps the legendary footballer is on his way out.

“Cristiano hasn’t said anything to me about any transfer request. I have read various speculations, but as I said, Ronaldo is not for sale and figures in our plans,” Goal quotes the Dutch coach as saying.

Ten Hag also spoke about transfers

As many as 31 players have travelled to Thailand for the pre-season tour. However, Erik ten Hag has made no secret that he is still looking for new reinforcements. Manchester United have so far only acquired Tyrell Malacia.

“We are looking for a player in the centre of midfield. I think we really need them. But we are equally looking for reinforcements in attack. We want to have the right players and a really good squad. We are working on developing our way of playing,” the Red Devils coach expressed himself somewhat unspecifically.

There have been speculations in the media about the arrival of Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, however Barcelona refuses to sell him. Moreover, Ten Hag did not want to talk about specific players who are not under contract at Old Trafford.

“It’s going to be a long season, which will also be quite unusual because of the World Cup. We have to be ready for that. I think we will need more players for that than in the regular season,” the Dutchman added.

Source: Manchester United, Goal