Harry Maguire confirms Erik ten Hag has STRIPPED him of Man Utd captaincy and admits he is ‘extremely disappointed’

HARRY MAGUIRE has sensationally confirmed he's been STRIPPED of the Manchester United captaincy.

And Maguire, whose Old Trafford future now hangs in the balance, admits feeling "extremely disappointed" - just a week after SunSport exclusively revealed Erik ten Hag's brutal decision.

The England defender, who spent part of his summer holidays training with legendary Premier League centre-back Ricardo Carvalho, lifted the lid on their interaction in an astonishing social media post.

Maguire's statement read: "After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain.

"He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt.

"So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband.

"Since the day I took on the role, three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date.

"It’s one of the greatest honours in club football. I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful - on and off the field.

"I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support."

Maguire started just eight games for United last season after falling down the pecking order under Ten Hag.

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Bruno Fernandes skippered the Red Devils for the second half of the campaign.

And SunSport understands he is likely to get the full-time role.

It now remains to be seen if Maguire stays at United, with a pay hike after a top four finish keeping suitors at bay for now.

West Ham have reportedly emerged as front runners after winning last season's Europa Conference League.

But they are only interested in a loan deal, while United will only consider a permanent sale for a mammoth £50million.

Maguire cost £80m when he joined the Red Devils from Leicester four years ago.

He has seven goals in 175 games for United, but found minutes limited under Ten Hag.

Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and even left-back Luke Shaw were all preferred ahead of him.

And with United also open to signing another centre-back, Maguire could find opportunities few and far between this term.

Boss Ten Hag told in May: "He has high competition there with Raphael Varane [at centre back], who’s fantastic. That describes everything.

"No one would be happy with this situation [on the bench]."

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