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Jamie Redknapp has slammed fans for their continued ridicule of Harry Maguire by calling the criticism a disgrace.
Maguire put in a man of the match performance for Manchester United as the irked out a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United and following the display, Redknapp hit out at the abuse that the defender has had to deal with for both club and country.
‘As a professional, I think he’s been treated disgracefully by football fans.’ Redknapp stated talking on Sky Sports after the game.
‘But if Harry Maguire does it it becomes a meme, and everyone starts talking about it. It’s completely unfair and you can see when he plays, he does make a difference.
Jamie Redknapp hit out at fans following the abuse aimed at Man United’s Harry Maguire
Maguire was voted man of the match in United’s 2-1 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane
The defender has remained a first-choice pick for Gareth Southgate’s England side
‘Do I think he’s the answer long-term for Man Utd? I genuinely don’t, he’s been in great form of late, but I think he may have to make his way somewhere else. But still, for whatever reason he doesn’t deserve the criticism he gets. It’s been massively below the belt and disgraceful at times.’
Maguire came under fire after a string of below-par performances led to him being dropped by Erik ten Hag last season and was then removed as club captain at the beginning of this campaign.
While his international cause took a dent when he scored an own goal against Scotland in September, further fuelling the abuse and ridicule of the 30-year-old.
Yet, Redknapp’s fellow pundit Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink praised Maguire after working with since joining Gareth Southgate’s coaching staff and credited the centre-back’s bravery as a player.
Hasselbaink said: ‘It’s been a pleasure to work with him, the boy is always ready to work, ready to give his all, never lets us down. I knew today what kind of performance you were going to get, honest performance.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has called Maguire one of the bravest players he’s ever worked with
He is one of the bravest players I know, because he always takes the ball and always takes responsibility. Players make mistakes, but he’s not shying away from them and sometimes how people treat him is not right. I’m happy he had a good performance today, he deserved it.’
Earlier this month Maguire defended his performances for United and underlined his ‘ridiculously high’ win percentage in a Red Devils shirt, despite only starting 16 times for the club last season.
He also revealed that he’d spoken to former England captain David Beckham, and he had helped him deal with the abuse he’s received whilst playing for his country.
Maguire was part of the United team who claimed victory at Bramall Lane thanks to goals from Scott McTominay and a second half winner from Diogo Dalot.
