Harry Maguire interview: England defender opens up on defying the Man Utd critics to become an Old Trafford cult hero and irreplaceable member of Ruben Amorim's squad

The arrival of more than £200 million ($269m) worth of attacking talent in the form of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko made United a much more dangerous prospect against Arsenal, and it has lifted the mood among Ruben Amorim’s squad after a rotten season in which they had their lowest league finish, points total and goal count in 51 year, as well as the added pain of losing the Europa League final to Tottenham.

"Last year, we just weren't as big a threat going forward as we should have been for this club," Maguire says of his new team-mates. "This club demands players who create chances, score goals, and that's what it's done throughout its history. So I think Bryan and Matheus coming in, Sesko coming off the bench, these are players who have proven that they're going to score goals and create chances.

"First and foremost they're going to be a threat. I think when you play against them as an opposition defender, you're not going to have an easy afternoon and you're always going to be aware because you know that in one moment Matheus can score from anywhere, or he can produce that little bit of magic. Bryan can score in the back post or he can curl one in.

"And Benjamin's got great physical attributes. He's quick and strong and he's tall. He's very good in the air, attacking crosses, and his movement in the box is really good. So I think they're just gonna create and score goals, and that's what this club demands."

Maguire has been named in United’s six-man leadership group for this season, along with Tom Heaton, Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui and captain Bruno Fernandes. As skipper himself between 2020 and 2023, Maguire’s leadership qualities are well known.

"It's just a group where we can feed things through to the staff and the management and look after the club in general, and give Bruno a little bit of weight off his shoulders," he explains. The atmosphere among the squad is far better, according to Maguire, than during last season, particularly when United’s league form rapidly declined as they lost 14 league matches between December and May. 

"It was nice, if I'm being honest, to feel like it was a bit of a fresh start after last season. In February, March time, [there was] nothing to play for. It was really tough.. apart from the Europa League and obviously focusing on that. But then when you get beat in the Premier League, it still piles down on you. 

"It was a tough situation for the manager to come into, and all his staff, because he was really preparing for the Europa League, and we never had a settled team in the Premier League. So I think this season, you're going to see us being a lot more competitive in the Premier League."

Maguire was one of United’s best performers last season and was thus spared much of the criticism that was levelled at his team-mates. The defender has, however, been at the sharp end of insults and mockery, particularly during the 2021-22 season when he admits his performances declined during Ralf Rangnick’s short-lived and difficult spell as interim manager. 

Things hit a nadir when he was jeered by Scotland fans during a friendly against England, prompting his mother to call the reaction towards Maguire "disgraceful and totally unacceptable". He therefore hopes his team-mates did not spend too long poring over the vitriolic reactions towards them on social media over the past few months.

"I'm sure that they've been getting slaughtered, left, right and centre, if I'm being honest. I hope they don't go on and read the comments when they've made a mistake or made a bad game, or read their direct messages or whatever they are on Instagram. I hope the players stay away and they learn that they don't need to be told by other people whether they're doing right or wrong.

"As a footballer, you know if you're playing well, and you know if you're doing things right and you know if you made a mistake. So you don't need to go on and get clarification from other people. We know where social media is. It's a tough place sometimes."

"I've been mentally strong throughout it all, but I’m only speaking on advice now I’m 32 years old," Maguire adds. "So I'm giving these younger lads experience that they are going to go through sticky times at this club, no matter how good it is. You're going to get it. It's one of the best clubs in the world, and you get a lot of spotlight on you, and you've got to learn to deal with it.”

Things have gone far better for Maguire since then, as he reclaimed his place in the team under Erik ten Hag having previously been stripped him of the captaincy because he was playing so little, before becoming a saviour for Amorim by scoring crucial goals against Ipswich Town, Leicester City and, of course, Lyon.

"I'm feeling in a good place, a really good place," he says. "It's been a couple of years now where I feel like I've played really well for this club again. I only had six months, really, where I had a bad dip of form. The previous two years were excellent. I've been a lot better in the last two-and-a-half years. I'm in a good place with the club and the fans. I've got a really good bond with them. It's a real special place to play, and it's a huge privilege and honour to play for this club, and it's something that I'll always be forever grateful for."

Maguire has become so important to United that in January the club automatically triggered the one-year extension clause in his contract. This summer, meanwhile, they have resisted offers from elsewhere for him. It is quite the turnaround from the summer of 2023, when the club had agreed to sell him to West Ham, only for Maguire to refuse to leave, instead successfully fighting to win back his place in the team.

"I'm pretty sure people have made it aware this summer that I can't leave the club on any terms with other clubs enquiring about me and my things and my position and my contract," he reveals. "I think there's a couple of clubs who have enquired or spoke with them and then they got a quick response.

"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, I feel like they’re taking it in the right direction. Since I started six years ago to where it is now, it's in a completely different place in terms of the structure behind the management and staff."

Maguire, however, has now entered the final year of his contract and is free to negotiate with other clubs in January. He is not, though, ready to walk away just yet: "I'm sure over the next few months we'll sit down and we'll have to have a conversation about where we want to go and if they want to extend, or obviously the transfer window will open again in January. 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."

Maguire is one of United’s elder statesmen, the third longest-serving player at the club after Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot, and in his six years he has come to appreciate just how massive United is and how much it means to people, from Stretford to south Asia. And it’s why he fancies sticking around for a little bit longer.

"When I joined this club, I noticed straight away that you have huge responsibility on the pitch, but you also have a massive responsibility off the pitch. This club has a worldwide fanbase. It's incredible. You don't realise it until you're actually in it, the fanbase, until you go on tour to places like India and when you come to places like this [Stretford], so many kids out there, they're all in Man United kits after the season we had last year as well.

"Our fans just stick with us. We lost the Europa League final against Spurs, had an awful season and then we go and play Villa at Old Trafford and it was packed out. The atmosphere was unbelievable. We got clapped off the pitch at the end of the game. That just doesn't happen at other clubs. And the fans at this club have been incredible with us, and now I feel like we're on a bit of a start of a journey with everything in place to take this club back to where it should be, and it’s nice. It's one that I'm looking forward to being part of."