Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has called for togetherness after Wednesday’s Europa League final defeat to Villarreal.
The Reds were edged out by the Spaniards 11-10 in a tense penalty shootout, after the sides battled to a 1-1 draw in a game of few openings during the 120 minutes of regulation play.
Unfortunately, several United players were targeted with abuse on social media following the game in Gdansk – the club utterly condemns this and there is simply no excuse for it.
Skipper Maguire took to Instagram on Thursday morning to call for unity amongst the players, staff and supporters.
He posted the following, alongside an image of him and his fellow Reds collecting their runners-up medals:
“Win together - Lose together. Everybody is hurt, this club is about winning. #UNITED”
Wednesday’s loss was especially tough to take for the 28-year-old, who was forced to watch proceedings from the sidelines.
Maguire suffered ankle ligament damage during the 3-1 win over Aston Villa in early May, which meant his league campaign had to come to a premature end.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was initially hopeful that Harry would be able to take part in Poland, but a lack of preparation ultimately meant he was named as one of our 12 substitutes.
“He's not ready. He's not trained,”
Ole said before the final. “We have him on the bench because if there's an emergency he'll want to come on. He's a leader in the dressing room, a player everyone respects and we need around the place.”
Maguire hopes to be fit for the European Championships with England, after Gareth Southgate named him in a 33-man provisional squad, alongside fellow Reds Dean Henderson, Luke Shaw, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood.
The Three Lions’ final selection for the tournament will be confirmed on Tuesday 1 June, ahead of friendlies with Austria and Romania.