The centre-back has seen it all for the Red Devils, becoming so valuable that the club told him this summer that he simply could not leave
"Maguire! Maguire! It's Maguire!" The excitement on the faces of the children is palpable as Harry Maguire casually strolls into their summer camp. The defender is a secret guest at the Manchester United Foundation’s multi-sport camp at Stretford Sport Village in the club’s heartlands, a 10-minute walk from Old Trafford.
He is serenaded with chants of "Oh Harry Maguire" before taking questions from the group of eight to 14-year-olds, many of whom come from low income backgrounds or live in areas of social deprivation. Maguire is quizzed on his toughest opponent (Harry Kane), his favourite game for United (his debut against Chelsea) and even if he prefers Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo (it’s Ronaldo). After fielding the questions, Maguire then joins in with the children for a match.
This is one of three camps taking place this summer in Manchester, as well as in Moss Side and Partington, offering children free meals and sporting activity as well as respite for their parents during the summer holidays. And best of all, they will be able to tell their friends and family about the time they played with a United hero, a former captain with 247 appearances and counting plus 15 goals, among them the barely-believable last-gasp winner against Lyon back in April.
"It's amazing to be here with the kids," Maguire tells GOAL. "When you turn up and you see them chanting your name and just putting a big smile on their face, the energy is infectious and I take some of this energy and take it back to the training ground."
Maguire and his team-mates could certainly do with that childlike enthusiasm as they look to get off the mark for the season at Fulham on Sunday after their equally encouraging, equally frustrating defeat to Arsenal in their opening match.
"I think obviously the feeling is disappointment in the end because this club demands winning football matches and when you play for this club you should never get the feeling of being happy after the game if you don't win," he says. "So the first feeling is disappointing because we’re sat in the table with zero points and we know it should be more. However, you can look at pluses. The performance was a lot better, [we had] a lot more intensity, and we actually deserved to get something from the game."
Getty New blood
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."
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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."
Getty Images SportSlaughtered on social media
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."
Getty Images SportIn a good place
"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."