Former Manchester United player Gary Neville has condemned United fans. They are furious at Harry Maguire, who keeps the captaincy going into the upcoming season.
The England defender was roundly criticized by fans and pundits alike last season for his displays in an underwhelming season for himself and the club.
His future had been in doubt after his form and leadership was called into question by some of his own teammates. He was expected to be dropped as captain this season following his poor form last season.
But ahead of the new season, his current manager Erik ten Hag, has backed him to retain the club’s captaincy.
The Dutchman said in a press conference during United’s pre-season tour of Thailand: “I have to get to know all the players, but he’s an established captain and he’s achieved a lot of success.”
After hearing the news that Maguire will be captain once again, former United full-back Neville who won 17 major honours during an illustrious career at United, tweeted, ‘Good!’
His tweet sparked a backlash from most United fans on social media.
Within 24 minutes of his post, Neville had 400 replies, with many shocked at his opinion.
But the Man United legend hit back and reiterated his stance by tweeting: “So the same United fans fuming with me for applauding the decision to keep Maguire as captain seem to be without knowing criticizing the new manager for his decision. Maybe support Maguire and stop bullying him on here! The new manager obviously likes him.”
“You having a go at me or our new manager that selected him as the captain?” he also asked when some fans on Twitter called his names.
In response to a tweet which said: ‘You’re just an established clown who just advocates for English players even when they’re useless,’ Neville said: “Sorry to inform you it’s a Dutch manager that’s selected him as captain, not an English clown.”
