Even after the spoils of Manchester United‘s dismal season have settled, Harry Maguire remains under constant scrutiny.
The club captain had already earned some unwanted notoriety among the fanbase, but last season only went ahead and amplified it. His lacklustre performances placed him in the firing line, and ever since, the England International has been the recipient of numerous trolls.
From sarcastic edits by fans to unfortunate memes, the 29-year-old has become the butt of the joke. The trolls took a bizarre turn as peculiar footage from video games began popping up online, aimed at mocking Maguire.
The latest one of these is perhaps the strangest yet, from the content to the choice of game, the details will leave you scratching your head. The viral clip looks to have been captured in the mobile variant of eFootball 2022, created for Android and iOS.
Blocky graphics, players’ faces comparable to low-res jpegs, boots with no definition, these details end up adding hilarity to the final result.
In the clip, Maguire takes down a player from behind, leading to the referee brandishing a straight red. While his teammates plead to the referee at first, the next frame shows them celebrating, clearly looking thrilled with his expulsion from the pitch. Maguire throws his arms around in frustration, while his teammates simply cannot contain their joy.
Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane bust out some moves, as Maguire shakes his head in disappointment.
The clip looked to suggest that United would rather play with 10 men, than have Maguire on the pitch. While that prospect is unlikely, fans online were convinced and the video soon became a hit.