Man Utd squad were split over Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire captaincy row

The Manchester United squad were split over their views on the captaincy last term as Cristiano Ronaldo 's presence challenged Harry Maguire.

The centre-half was handed the armband early in his career at Old Trafford following his mega money move from Leicester City in 2019. Maguire, in his first full season as captain, had led the Red Devils to a second place finish before they added Ronaldo in a summer recruitment drive 12 months ago.

Ronaldo had been skipper at Real Madrid and Juventus in the past whilst he also dons the armband for his national side. United though stuck by their man, but as their season struggles continued more internal issues began to unravel, with the squad far from agreement on who should be their skipper, reports the BBC.

That left Maguire less than impressed and he remained determined to retain the armband, despite his own personal performances coming in for criticism. A change in the dugout could mean a change of leader with Ronaldo set to remain at Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag, the man now making the calls, gave no guarantees that Maguire would still be the captain when he was quizzed at his opening press conference. He said: “I have to repeat: next season is a different season. I think he did a great job, he is a great player. He achieved already a lot. A really good contribution to Manchester United. So I am looking forward to working with him.”

Gary Neville has confessed that the presence and body language of Ronaldo has "undermined" Maguire and admits there is an issue. He said on the Overlap : "I thought last year Maguire was growing and emerging as the captain of the team. There is no doubt, the introduction of Cristiano into the club has meant that he feels inferior. Maguire will