Izuchukwu OkosiEngland international Harry Maguire on Sunday tweeted that he has been stripped of the captain’s armband by manager Erik ten Hag.
The much maligned central defender who has been the subject of criticisms by the fanbase for some average performances expressed his disappointment at the decision of the Dutch manager but pledged to give his support to any player that emerges the new club captain.
For most parts of last season, Portugal international, Bruno Fernandez was handed the responsibility of captaining the Red Devils and is set to be officially announced as the new skipper.
The England centre-back, Maguire, was appointed United skipper by Ten Hag’s predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in January 2020.
“After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain. 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.
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.
Maguire seems to take a sly dig at the United supporters who have been calling for his exit from the club and highlighted leading the club to FA Cup title win.
Maguire also hailed the trust in him by former United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who made him captain in January 2020.
“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 Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support.
Harry.
United will begin their 2023/2024 campaign with a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 13.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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