CNN
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Harry Maguire has experienced the highs and lows of being a Manchester United star in recent seasons, but he has no doubts about his unwavering self-esteem.
For Red Devils centreback, who became the world’s most expensive defender when he joined United from Leicester City in 2019, it certainly was a roller coaster of emotions these days.
Last month, Maguire is playing as a makeshift striker, but won a sensational winner in the final seconds of extra time as his team completed one of Europe’s great comebacks by beating the Olympic Lyon 7-6 and reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League, facing Athletic Bilbao.
“Well, I think it’s the craziest game I’ve ever played. To be honest, from a goal perspective, it’s probably my favorite and best goal in club football,” Maguire told CNN Sports.
“I obviously scored a few goals in the World Cup quarterfinals and the Euro quarterfinals, so they all get close, but that’s something I will never forget, and I think the emotion of the game is what makes the goal bigger.
Despite the home side’s happiness on an epic night at the Theatre of Dreams, it was another season of substantial shortage for the British Giants in the Premier League. So the only hope for the team to play in the Champions League next season is to win the campaign against the Europa League.
“Of course, this club wants to win the trophy and they need to win the trophy, so to win the Europa League, it’s going to be really big for us as players, staff and everyone.
“We beat Lyon in the quarter-finals. We’re playing Bilbao now. Bilbao says that people are probably the tournament favorites. So it’s a tough, tough game, but it’s something we look forward to, we play and do everything we can.”
Now led by Portuguese head coach Reuben Amorim, United, brought to the worst finish of his Premier League days, with fierce rival Liverpool pulling out United with the record 20 top flight league title to rub more salt on the wounds.
Maguire admits that his team endured a really difficult year. “It was a real shame. We can’t hide from it. We’re too inconsistent.
“It left us in a position where we can’t go anywhere in the Premier League. We play more for pride and league positions, not for the European location we know as players. That’s not enough for Manchester United.”
United enjoys success in the League Cup and FA Cup during Maguire’s time at the club, but there have been some difficult moments for England International too. He was the club captain of All Gunnal Solskigier, just to lose his captain in 2023 under Norwegian successor Eric Ten Hag. At the time, Maguire expressed his extreme disappointment at the decision.
There were also injuries (especially missing Euro 2024) and regular losses in shape, but through that, the resilience and character strength of the defender’s trademark remained unchanged. The perfect remedy to silence critics.
“Just hard. It’s coming to workout every day and coming to improve as much as you can. And if you give it everything, I say it doesn’t matter what you go through.
“It’s about working hard, giving everything, having great belief in yourself, being able to do it, turning the difficult season that obviously I had.”
The 32-year-old admits to CNN that he and his teammates are hurt by poor results, but these same set-offs also help motivate the team to move forward.
“It gives us hunger and that fight to make sure we come back in the next season. We’ll be better. We’re showing more. We’ll be doing that.
“I’m sure it will improve next year. I’m going to find the difference between these games and make sure we have a better, more consistent foundation.”
With that improvement in mind, United already knows where some of their preseason preparations go ahead of their 2025-26 campaign.
The Red Devils travel to the US to compete in the Premier League summer series.
Along with AFC Bournemouth, Everton and West Ham United, Maguire and his teammates will play doubleheaders at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. This will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta from July 26th to August 3rd to August 3rd.
“Yeah, I’m really excited. Obviously, this is my third year in a spin in America and it’s always been a great tour. The fans are great. The facilities are great. The stadium is great. The players were excited when they heard we were coming back to America.
“Playing three Premier League teams over there will be a really competitive game.
This is the second Premier League Summer Series to be held in the US. Two years ago, over 265,000 fans saw a top-flight English team taking part in the first tournament Chelsea won. And that’s what we’re based in United fan Maguire says he’s really looking forward to connecting with this time.
“I think it’s really important for players who play for this club to understand how big we are all around the world and how passionate our fans are in different countries. It’s very important to get the best fans around the world.
This year’s three Premier League summer series venues include four NFL franchises: the Giants and Jets of New York, the Atlanta Falcons and the Chicago Bears. This is the music of Maguire’s international English teammate Harry Kane.
“I’m not as big as he is, I know he’s a huge fan,” Maguire tells CNN. “I’m obviously looking at the Super Bowl and things, but I don’t follow the team. I like sports, but I’m not as close to big fans as Harry. He loves it!”
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