Maguire’s mother makes emotional plea as Man Utd star’s mockery becomes too much

Harry Maguire’s mother has released an emotional statement on social media as the relentless circus surrounding the Manchester United star rumbles on. Zoe Maguire has blasted the treatment of fans, pundits and the media as ‘disgraceful’ in a desperate plea for the mockery to end.

Maguire has suffered brutal criticism and ridicule from all angles after his United career took a steep decline in recent years.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made him the most expensive defender in history in 2019 by splashing £80million to sign him from Leicester City.

But Maguire’s arrest on the island of Mykonos in the summer of 2020 was the start of a series of unfortunate events that have led to a significant loss of confidence and, subsequently, a giant target on his back.

Erik ten Hag stripped Maguire of the United captaincy this summer, handing the armband to Bruno Fernandes, which was supposed to take the 30-year-old out of the limelight.

However, sarcastic cheers from rival fans when he enters the pitch and even boos from his own ‘supporters’ stem from a barrage of social media abuse in an attempt to turn him into the world’s football clown.

And his mother has had enough of the treatment, taking to Instagram to aim fire at his critics and praise her son’s character.

She wrote: “As a mum, seeing the level of negative and abusive comments which my son is receiving from some fans, pundits, and the media is disgraceful and totally unacceptable to any walk of life, never mind someone who works his socks off for club and country.

“I was there in the stand as usual. It’s not acceptable what’s been created over nothing. I understand that in the football world, there are ups and downs, positives and negatives, but what Harry receives has gone far beyond ‘football’.

“For me, seeing him go through what he’s going through is not ok. I would hate to have to see any other parents or players go through this in the future, especially the young boys and girls breaking through the ranks today.

“Harry has a massive heart, and it’s a good job he’s mentally strong and can handle it as others may not be able to. I wish this sort of abuse on nobody.”