Harry Maguire has opened up about missing out on Euro 2024 and the FA Cup final, describing it as the ‘toughest moment of my career’.
Maguire suffered double heartbreak as he was ruled out of Manchester United’s triumph over Manchester City at Wembley in May, and then England’s run to the final of the Euros in Germany because of a calf injury.
The 31-year-old United defender still believes he could have been fit for both club and country had he not pushed himself too hard and suffered a series of setbacks.
Speaking about it for the first time on United’s summer tour in Los Angeles, Maguire said: ‘It was probably the toughest moment of my career. I worked so hard throughout the year, to get myself in a really good position physically and mentally to play in the FA Cup final and then thinking about the Euros after that.
‘To have an injury which was, to be honest, not a big injury … it was just a calf injury, only a three-week injury, but I just had three setbacks with it.
Harry Maguire has opened up about missing out on Euro 2024 and the FA Cup final
Maguire is back in training with United and on their pre-season tour of the United States
Maguire was injured as United beat Man City at Wembley to win the FA Cup amidst a difficult season
‘When I first did the injury, I thought I’d be fit for the FA Cup final. So I pushed myself for the final, and then I had a setback in the week leading up to the final which ruled me out of it.
‘At that time again, it was no problem, I was going to be fit for the Euros. Then I went away with England and I had another setback. It was so frustrating.
‘When I look back, I wish I had no chance with all of them, so I could have got my head around it. But I thought I was going to play in the Cup Final or be involved at some stage, and I thought 100 per cent I’d be involved at the Euros. But it just didn’t happen and maybe I just pushed myself to get back too early. It was the toughest moment of my career, definitely.’
Maguire has resurrected his Old Trafford career despite some painful episodes that include being stripped of the captaincy by manager Erik ten Hag a year ago and booed by his own supporters.
United accepted a £30million offer from West Ham last summer, but Maguire decided to fight for his future at Old Trafford and was rewarded with 31 appearances last season as Ten Hag’s team – and defence in particular – were decimated by injuries.
Asked if he is proud at how he handled the last 12 months, Maguire replied: ‘Yeah I’m really proud. I always had great belief in myself. I think it was my third year at the club, under Ralf (Rangnick), where it didn’t go to plan. Not just for me, but for the team as well.
‘Ultimately, I was the captain of the team as well and I came under a lot of pressure and a lot of scrutiny, and my performances were nowhere near as good as they were in the previous two years.
‘My fourth year under Erik, I didn’t play as much as I would have liked, but whenever I did play I felt I did well. But that was down to Rapha (Varane) and Licha (Martinez) doing really well and keeping numerous clean sheets.
Maguire missed out on England’s Euro 2024 squad after suffering an injury setback
The 31-year-old United defender still believes he could have been fit for both club and country had he not pushed himself too hard
Maguire was part of England’s initial training squad for Euro 2024 before being cut for the final selection
‘So I knew I had to bide my time and I spoke with the manager last year about my situation, whether to move on and get regular football and regular game time. But he fully believed in me, and he always said there will be chances.
‘There haven’t been as many as there was in the previous year, but I backed myself to get back into his plans and I was really pleased with the way I handled last year. I thought my form was really, really good in every game I played. The only other part of it was that it was frustrating how many little injuries I did pick up throughout the season.
‘I’m always a player who, if I’ve got niggles and things like that, I will play through them. I do that now, to be honest. When I was the captain and when the team is not doing well, you always feel like you need to be out there and take that responsibility and take the pressure off the other lads and be the man out there and actually take it yourself. I definitely did that at times.
‘But the injuries I picked up last season, it was probably impossible to play through them, as they were muscle injuries, rather than knee or ankle ones.’
Maguire has was booed by a section of United fans in pre-season for the last two summers in Melbourne, Las Vegas and Dublin. However, it was a sign of his renewed popularity among supporters when he was cheered off the pitch after suffering a groin injury in the Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich at Old Trafford in December, and the dissent is now a thing of the past.
‘That (the booing) was after my third year under Ralf and Erik’s first year in charge,’ said Maguire. ‘I knew I just needed a run of games to get my form back, to get my confidence back. I believed I would do that and I think I had 15 starts on the spin into the Bayern game before getting a groin injury.
‘I felt my game last year was in a really good place and back to what I was showing in my first two years at the club. But not just myself, everyone in the team just couldn’t keep fit for the length of the season.’
Maguire’s future at United is under scrutiny again this summer after the club spent £59millon on Leny Yoro as well as pursuing Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Matthijs de Ligt of Bayern Munich.
He has entered the final 12 months of the six-year contract he signed after moving to Old Trafford from Leicester in 2019 for £80million – a world record for a defender – although United have the option to extend it by another year.
But Maguire isn’t ready to call time on his United just yet. ‘Listen, until I get told “you’re up for sale or we want you to leave”, I want to play for this club and make it successful again.
‘All the things I’m hearing and seeing from everyone involved is I’ll be part of this club for the future. Every summer and every transfer window at Manchester United, there are 15 players out of the door and we’re getting 45 players in.
‘I think every player knows that’s what happens. I’m a player with only a year left on my contract with an option, but if they come to me and say they don’t want me any more, of course I’ll look for options elsewhere – but that’s never been told to me.’
Maguire is ready to help 18-year-old Yoro settle in to English football even though the young Frenchman is a rival for a place in the starting line-up.
Maguire was previously booed by some sections of the United fan base during Erik ten Hag’s (right) first season in charge
Maguire’s future at United is under scrutiny again this summer as the club bring in further defensive reinforcements
‘Yeah, definitely,’ he said. ‘I think it’s really important us senior lads help the young boys at the club. You’re starting to see now there’s so much talent in this squad, but they’re going to need to be guided in the right direction and I think that’s definitely a role of mine and other lads as well.
‘I must say I haven’t trained too much with him (Yoro) but I’ve seen clips and I’ve seen attributes in a centre-back of an 18-year-old that you’d want.
‘We must remind ourselves he’s really young and there are going to be mistakes, but he has every attribute of a centre-back in the modern game, so I’m sure he’s going to have a bright future.
‘It’s our job as senior centre-backs, my job, to help him along, communicate well and let him know what to expect. There are going to be times where I’m sure he’ll feel the world is on top of him, and there are also going to be times where he’ll feel like the best player in the world – and that’s what this club brings.’
