Harry Maguire agreement reached as Man United star gets clear message

Harry Maguire agreement reached as Man United star gets clear message - 'Unacceptable'

Harry Maguire has entered the final year of his contract at Old Trafford and, as it stands, he's set to leave Manchester United in the summer

Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch believe Harry Maguire has been unfairly treated at Manchester United. The 32-year-old defender currently faces an uncertain future at Old Trafford, having recently entered the final year of his contract.

From January, foreign clubs will be eligible to open pre-contract talks with Maguire over a free transfer in the summer – unless he signs a new deal beforehand. If the England international doesn't pen an extension, United will be forced to make a difficult decision.

The Reds will have to consider whether they'd rather lose Maguire at the end of the season or cut their losses and recoup a fraction of the £80m they paid for his signature in the upcoming January transfer window. According to The Daily Mail, United are in talks with the player over a new deal, but they have yet to put an offer on the table.

The report claims that any chance of Maguire taking a pay cut would hinge on the terms of the deal, including the length of the contract. Despite rescuing the Reds on numerous occasions in the past, Rooney and Crouch believe the Englishman has been unfairly treated.

Speaking on his podcast following United's 2-1 win over Liverpool, Rooney said: "Today shows why he should be in the World Cup squad. And I really mean that. I think he's so important.

"I think with Harry, I would really struggle to have dealt with what he's been through. You know, he was a meme for years. I've seen him in Parliament over in Africa somewhere, where he's getting brought up in that, and they're laughing at him.

"So for him to have dealt with so much, he's incredibly strong-minded to have gone through that. Then, getting the armband taken off him, and people laughing at him."

Rooney added: "You're like, this guy has been in World Cup teams of the tournament and been incredible for England, been really good for Man United and it's completely unfair and it was bullying.

"He was getting bullied from all over the place and for him to have dealt with that and got through it and stuck with it, you'd have to say, 'You know what, that's a strong human being'.

"And for him to get through that and his family to get through that and come out the other side and show his ability and quality and strength, I couldn't be happier for him."

Singing from the same hymn sheet, Crouch echoed the sentiment shared by the United legend. Speaking on his podcast, the former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur striker said: "I’m just really, really pleased for him.

"Throughout my career, there have been points where I've been low and I've had a lot of grief, a lot of stick, so I kind of know what that's like. For him to get that amount of grief, it was above and beyond what is acceptable, I think.

"Attacking his family, his personality, the way he looks, everything was wrong about the way he's been villainised at that club."

Crouch added: "I just think it shows absolutely massive b******* to consistently to go [and perform]. Even the game against Liverpool, it was like, 'Ah, why's he playing?!' There’s always this whole thing of being down on him starting.

"Listen, there have been times where he hasn't been good enough and that's been called out, but I think the stick went beyond football. When he scored… genuinely, I don't want to see any Manchester United player score.

"But when it was him, I kind of half had a feeling of, 'Good for him, he kind of deserves this,' and I think there's a lot of the football community that feel that way."

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