Five-time PL winner urges Amorim to strip Fernandes of captaincy and award armband to his ‘resilient’ teammate

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·3 gennaio 2025

Five-time PL winner urges Amorim to strip Fernandes of captaincy and award armband to his ‘resilient’ teammate

Patrice Evra has urged Ruben Amorim to be ruthless and give his leadership team a reshuffle at Old Trafford.

Indeed, the Manchester United legend, who departed the club in 2014 after winning five Premier League titles among a host of accolades, said today: “Give Harry Maguire the armband back!!! After all he’s been through – showing resilience and leadership.”

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It’s certainly a bold call from Evra and one that plenty of the United faithful will strongly disagree with.

Maguire donned the armband from January 2020 until July 2023. He was promoted into the esteemed role by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just six months after his record-making, £80 million move from Leicester City, but would go on to be replaced just one season into Erik ten Hag’s tenure, with the Dutchman deciding to strip him of the captaincy and award it to Bruno Fernandes instead.

Amorim adamant about keeping Maguire in his ranks for his first full season

(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Evra’s comments came after Ruben Amorim confirmed in his pre-Liverpool press conference that Maguire will have his one-year contract option activated by the club in the coming weeks.

Ruben has confirmed that the one-year option on @HarryMaguire93's contract will be exercised 🙌 #MUFC
– venerdì 3 gennaio 2025

As it stands, his terms are set to expire in June, meaning he is currently free to talk to foreign clubs and sign a pre-contract agreement ahead of moving as a free agent in five months’ time.

Along with the England international, Amad Diallo will also have his terms extended by an additional season, although he is reportedly locked in negotiations over a new, long-term deal entirely, having been one of United’s few bright sparks since 2024/2025 got underway.

It remains to be seen where Maguire’s future lies next summer. He’ll be 33 at the time and has fallen victim to significantly more injury setbacks over the last 12 months, which Amorim will be hoping is not a sign of what’s to come while he navigates the second half of the campaign.