Harry Maguire Hits Back At Claims Of A Manchester United Power Struggle

If denial is a sign of grief then there must be a lot of it round Manchester United this week, with Harry Maguire the latest player to deny a story of unrest at Old Trafford.

It's not possible to go a full 24 hours without something at United going wrong, whether that's on the pitch with results or off it, with changing room issues.

Whilst the team finally got a win on Tuesday over Brighton, following three 1-1 draws in their previous 90 minutes, with one penalty shootout loss, there has still been talk of issues.

First there was news that Cristiano Ronaldo's relationship with Ralf Rangnick is 'fractured,' then Ronaldo's apparent falling out with Rashford and finally the Portugal star reportedly wanting the captaincy off Maguire, there's a pattern forming.

The issue between Ronaldo and Maguire was called a 'power struggle' but the United captain has now come out and denied the story, replying to it on Twitter.

The report claimed that Rangnick, who has apparently fallen out with Ronaldo remember, wanted the five time Ballon d'Or winner to 'mentor younger players.'

That was deemed to have undermined Maguire's position as captain and there's claims that other players now see it as only a matter of time the armband will move from the current captain to the former Juventus forward.

It's hardly the first time there has been suggestions of the former Leicester City centre back losing the captaincy at Old Trafford, with his form also often questioned.

Rio Ferdinand recently said David de Gea should be captain, in part to let Maguire concentrate on his form, whilst there has been previous reports of teammates 'resenting' the 28-year-old for getting the captaincy in the first place.

The England defender's form has also taken a battering in recent months and just this week he was mocked for his 'no look' defending against Southampton striker Armando Broja.

Michael Owen also described the United defender as 'embarrassing' and looking 'petrified' for his performance against the Saints, before the team kept a clean sheet against Brighton.

Maguire isn't the only player to have to deny reports of a rift with Ronaldo this week, with Rashford also saying that reports of his issues with the forward as being 'made up.'

With so many stories coming out of Old Trafford at the moment, it's difficult to know what is true and what isn't, but either way you know a run of good results would soon stop all the talk.