Not every team can get big-money signings right. While some teams fail consistently, other teams nail it almost every time.
The two giant clubs of Manchester perfectly illustrate this contrast.
Manchester City are firmly part of the latter group, with signings like KDB, Haaland, Walker, Rodri, Diaz and more.
And then there is Manchester United, who are the best example of the former.
A few of their bad high-profile transfers include Paul Pogba (sold on a free), Mkhitaryan (exchanged with Sanchez), Romelu Lukaku (sold at a loss), and Di Maria (sold at a loss) among others.
When a big-money signing fails to deliver, they attract tons of criticism and hate after every performance.
The club has spent millions and millions of pounds on a player only for him to come and make mistakes and turn out to be a flop.
One player who knows what it is to not live up to the expectations of the fanbase is Harry Maguire.
A successful spell at Leicester convinced the Red Devils to fork out around £80m, hoping that he would fill the gap left after Vidic and Ferdinand retired.
It has not gone to plan though. Maguire has not played to the standards required, has committed multiple errors and has been culpable for conceding goals instead of stopping them.
And the player cannot catch a break, be it for club or international football.
In the recent international break, the defender was in Southgate’s starting XI in a Nations League game against Germany.
The topsy-turvy 90 minutes ended in a draw with both sides scoring three goals.
It would have not ended that way though, if not for Maguire, who committed errors that led to his side conceding.
Distraught and attracting criticism, the player took to Instagram to issue an apology after the game.
“Mistakes are part of the game, I apologise. Great fight back and spirit to get us back into the game by the lads. Take positives and look forward to Qatar. The tough times will make us stronger”, the player wrote.
On his return to club duties, Maguire was ruled out of the starting XI for United in the Manchester derby due to an injury.
We would really not blame him if let out a sigh of relief for not being in the public eye for once.
While his team was getting battered 6-3 on the pitch, Maguire spent the whole game on the bench and at some point, cameras captured a moment that has since gone viral on Twitter.
Maguire was ‘caught’ smiling while the Cityzens were running riot. It is enough to boil anyone’s blood, let alone United supporters’.
However, soon after this alleged moment was “captured” on camera, it was revealed that the picture was indeed an edit and that Maguire was not actually smiling.
Talk about joblessness!
The picture was, in reality, taken when City were only 1-0 up and even then, the defender had a worried look on his face and not a jovial smile.
Safe to say, not everyone was happy with this anti-Maguire agenda.
Criticising players is acceptable after a bad performance, but being after the poor sod’s life just for the sake of clout is unreasonable and low.