Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire Row Over Man Utd Captaincy? Ralf Rangnick Comments

Amid a lot of speculations regarding the emerging captaincy rift between Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire, Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has now commented on the issue.

Rangnick said he has been told about the speculations and is not frustrated by it. "This is absolutely nonsense - I've never spoken with players about captaincy. "It's never been an issue with me. Harry is our captain and will stay our captain."

"I'm not frustrated at all because I know it is not true. I don't listen to that noise because I focus on preparing the team," Rangnick added. "I have heard about what was written. Yes, there were players that were unhappy at the end of the [transfer] window. This has improved and the atmosphere in the locker room is better than it was a few weeks ago. It's about performing well and showing togetherness on the pitch. That's what we can influence."

Meanwhile, the Man Utd captain also commented regarding the claims that he is fighting with his Portuguese teammate for the position. He has firmly denied reports suggesting that he is embroiled in a "power struggle" with Ronaldo at Old Trafford.

"I've seen a lot of reports about this club that aren't true and this is another. Not going to start posting about everything that is written but I needed to make this one clear. We're united and focused on Sunday. Enjoy your day everyone."

In January 2020, it was just months after joining the club in a big-money deal from Leicester City, former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave Maguire the captaincy. However, reports suggest Ronaldo's home return has overshadowed his authority.

Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo each took over the position of captain during Maguire's injury layoff earlier in 2022, which has led to calls from the Man Utd supporters for Maguire to be permanently stripped of the armband. However, the club's interim boss Rangnick previously insisted that there was no reason for the England international to have the captaincy taken away from him.

Maguire is not the only player to comment on speculations surrounding Old Trafford; Marcus Rashford also got irritated on the news about divides forming in the Man Utd dressing room. Rashford recently retweeted a news article and wrote, "Are we just making it up as we go along now then? Please stop looking for divides."