'In the last five years we've been in five major finals. That's a golden era for a lot of other teams'

After England's rare 2-0 win over Germany in Euro 2020, Juergen Klinsmann, the German legend raved about Harry Maguire's robust performance. He hailed the then Manchester United captain as a 'leader' who grabs the game by the scruff of the neck.

“I coached Bayern Munich and had a Brazilian centre-back called Lucio, he was similar to Maguire,” Klinsmann had said.

After finishing 15th in the Premier League and without a trophy to show for — having just completed a worst top-flight season since 1973-74 — Maguire is luckily not the person trolled by the media or the fans. However, he has some strong views on online trolling of players. He finished the season on a personal high and is likely to survive the Amorim purge that is on the cards.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In Mumbai, donning an ambassadorial role for Manchester United organised by Apollo Tyres, Maguire took out time to talk to TOI about his Manchester United journey that started as being the highest-paid defender in the world to the present day when national coach Thomas Tuchel left him out of the England squad, albeit with some consolatory words. He also talked about chai, kebabs and an afternoon out playing footy with the kids.

Excerpts...Who's that IPL player?So, Harry, can you please share your thoughts on the season that went by?I think it was a disappointing season. As players we take responsibility. It was nowhere near good enough for the club standard and the history that the club has. It's all built around winning games. So, this season was disappointing, there's no doubt about that. And we've got a lot of work to do. We'll have a break now after this Asian tour.

Then we'll get ready for a fresh start. Obviously, the manager has come in with new ideas and will have a full pre-season to work with us.

I'm sure we will improve a lot.Are you going to see through your contract which ends next year (2026)? Because we are hearing that there will be a lot of changes on the cards?In football, it's natural when you have a disappointing season, I think there's going to be a lot of players who leave the club and a lot of players who will join.

I have one year left on my deal, so it is down to the manager. Obviously at my age (32) I don't really want to be going into my last year and leaving it too late and then deciding. So, I think we will have to come to a decision, whether it's this transfer window or if the manager desperately wants to keep me, then we will make a decision on extending that contract.

I would like to play a part in rebuilding this club.

What are the changes you are expecting in the coming season? Manager Ruben Amorim has promised the moon in a speech after the win against Aston Villa. What exactly is the psychology of the team when you finish 15th, and you promise that next season, the team will be making the top four?We all feel we can improve.

I think we are in a little bit of a false position in the Premier League because we did focus on the Europa League so much. We put all our efforts to win the Europa League. I think you've seen in the last couple of games against Chelsea and Aston Villa, where we played as a more consistent team. I think our performances were a lot better. We could have won the game at Chelsea easily. And then we dominated Villa from start to finish.

We could have finished with a bigger scoreline, really. Having said that, I still believe it's not been good enough.There are so many areas to improve. And like I've said, there'll be a lot of players who will leave. And that's part and parcel of being at a big club. It's obviously down to the club and the manager who they want to keep and who they want to bring in and strengthen the areas which need reinforcements. Because as Manchester United, we need to win football matches and we haven't done that this year.Harry, the manager said on Tuesday that Champions League absence could benefit you. How would fans react to it and how do you expect the players to react?Well, I think as a club, we want to be in the Champions League. Of course we do. And as players, we want to be part of the Champions League night. But is the team ready to go and win the Champions League next year? No, it's not. So that's the idea behind the manager's comment. His thinking is that he will have long weeks to improve this squad of players and to improve their principles and to improve our fitness levels, our physicality and our demands.

Because he wants to change a lot of things at the club, he will get more time to implement his ideas than by playing more games. Because when you're playing games in a week and then at the weekend, you're not really training. You're just recovering and then you're playing. So, the manager has got that idea in his head. Of course, I know the manager and he's ambitious. He wants to be playing in the Champions League, but he understands he has constraints.

He understands the reality that we finished 15th in the Premier League this year, and to win the Champions League next year, it would be highly unlikely. But this club demands that he should be playing in the top competitions. But our form this year has proven that we've not been good enough or consistent enough to play in the Champions League.

It's been 12 years now since United won the league. You have been with the club since 2019 and have seen the decline of the club. Can you give us an inside view about why United are failing? Is the legacy or history of the club too much weight to carry?I wouldn't put it down to that.

T

he competition now is different in the Premier League. That's a big reason. You have teams now paying 40, 50, 60 million pounds to players despite the side finishing 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th in the Premier League. The money spent in the Premier League is crazy from every team who's in there. That's why you're seeing the teams coming up from the championship struggling more because the competition now is so fierce.

You have teams like Manchester City, who have come into the mix in the last 10 years.They have obviously done excellent, but they have spent a lot of money doing that. But the tide will turn again and the club will go back in the right direction. We're speaking about a bad era and a bad time for Manchester United. But in the last five years we've been in five major finals. That's a golden era for a lot of other teams. Yes, it's been a bad couple of years.

But we won the FA Cup last year, we lost in the Europa League final this year, but it has been a bad two years in the Premier League.Obviously, my first two years under Ole (Gunnar Solskjær) were good. We finished third, we finished second, we lost in the Europa League final on penalties (2021) where we were the better team throughout the game. These moments can define you as a player and as a player for a club. I mean I've lost two Europa League finals now and I could easily be sat here with two Europa League winners' medals.

But that's part and parcel of football.

You win some and lose some.For sure, the last two years have been nowhere near good enough. We've just lost too many games, and I think there's been a big transition period over the last year or so with the ownership and the manager and things like that and a lot of things happening behind the scenes. But they're putting it in a position where they can climb again.Marcus Rashford and Antony, who left the club on loan, found a new lease of life in other teams. Did they succumb to the scrutiny that each Manchester United player must deal with?I think this club has so much spotlight on it and so much scrutiny on it and so much everyone analysing it, that it has so many different opinions across the globe.

And if anybody speaks about this club, it makes headlines. So, any former player who has an opinion on the club, it makes a headline, whether that's positive or negative - negative really makes the news. And I think if you're signing for this club, I think you've got to be prepared for that.

You will not have it smooth sailing. I can remember watching the best Manchester United teams with Wayne Rooney and David Beckham, and they got a lot of stick from the press during certain periods of their career at this club.

So, if you're wanting a long, successful career at Manchester United, it will not be smooth all the way.You will have times where you'll have to dig in, you'll have to fight. And the press and the scrutiny and the punditry will be questioning you. When you play for this club and you lose a game of football, everyone speaks about how they're going to replace you in the summer. But it's just part and parcel of playing for this club.

And when you come to places like India and you see the fan base that we have out here, we have the greatest fans in the world.

We have a fan base which is worldwide. And handling scrutiny is something one must learn quickly.And I think, the players that are coming into the club, people who are signing them, should make them aware that it's not just going to be an easy ride. They should have the mentality and the mindset to deal with those setbacks.

Harry, two take offs from your response. Even 'homeboy' Marcus Rashford couldn't survive the scrutiny. You survived similar scrutiny and many challenges. What is your observation on Rashford leaving and Harry Maguire surviving and coming out stronger?I think it's two different scenarios, if I'm honest. Rashford's been at the club all his life. Sometimes, when you have been at the club so long, a new challenge or something away from the club sparks a little bit of new energy and that's what has happened to Marcus.

Marcus is a wonderful player, but, yeah, I don't know what's going to happen. He might come back next season and start performing and start playing for Manchester United again.

I was just prepared for the setbacks, and I am grounded where if people speak highly about me and my game, I just tend to stay level and don't read too much praise or too much negativity. I just try and do my best every day, try and work as hard and that's what I feel you can do as a footballer.Even after being called 'Harrydinho' (a combination of his name and Brazilian great Ronaldinho)? Did you imagine as a young footballer, that someday you would be called 'Harrydinho'?(Laughs) No, I think it's all fun. Obviously, I've had some great moments this season. It's been a difficult season, of course. I hate coming off the football pitch after losing. It's the worst feeling in the world and it's happened so much this season.

So, the moments that we have had, obviously the Lyon goal and the Bilbao games and I've scored a couple of late goals as well in this season. So the big moments in games have been pleasing for me because they create a lot of memories and they're the moments that the fans remember.Obviously scoring the last minute against Lyon was special with all my family in the stands and obviously to score the first goal in Bilbao, which was a crucial goal in the tie.

But yeah, these are the moments that when you finish your career, you will look back on and look back at them with a big smile on your face.Since we are living in social media era, what kind of impact does online hate and trolling take on the mental health of a player? Say you make a mistake which unfortunately costs your team, in that moment, does your mind wander and you dread what the reaction on social media is going to be?I wouldn't say my mind does, but I think it does affect a lot of players.

I think people get invested far too much in social media. And the thing on social media is that you just read when you're going through a bad time. The negative comments are always the ones that you read and get blown out of proportion. Obviously, there are highlights too on social media and analysis of games too has become so big that, at Manchester United, if you pass a ball out of play, then there's probably going to be a video going around viral of you and everyone tries to make fun of you.

For me, I tend to just not read too much on social media. I try to use it to my benefits, where I can interact with my fans and show them what I'm doing socially sometimes. But apart from that, whether I score a last-minute winner or make a mistake, I don't read the comments. That's important to do because social media is such a big part of the world and everybody is invested in it, but as footballers, you can't really get too invested in it because it always comes back to hurt you.So, if you feel you've not had the game that you were hoping to have, do you just stay away from social media for a few days?Yeah, definitely. Even if I had a good game after which I post something, I still wouldn't be flicking through it more or searching more. I don't think there's any need to. Because, as a player, you know when you've played well, and you know when you can do better. I think the most important thing is you can only every day go into training and just try and improve and try and work as hard as you can.

And then whatever happens on the pitch, it happens on the pitch.It's life. Things happen; you make mistakes. But of course, when you play for Manchester United, especially in the Premier League, it gets spoken about. Everyone knows that if you write a headline on Manchester United players, it gets more clicks than any other team. That's common knowledge. That's why we are one of the biggest clubs in the world with a worldwide fan base.

We have amazing fans, but obviously a lot of the other fans as well aren't too keen on us.Once you look back, would you consider your games under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the best part of your time at United?Yeah, definitely. Those were my prime years. People have asked me if this year has been my best year. Performance wise, it hasn't. I performed well this year, but of course the first two years under Ole, I took a team from conceding a lot of goals the previous year to a team that kept the most clean sheets in Europe.

The second year, I think it was the second most clean sheets in Europe. Finished third, finished second, had a great defensive record.

And yeah, obviously the first year, the squad wasn't amazing like in terms of talent or wage bills and things. So yeah, they were my best two years of my playing career, along with the previous few with Leicester as well. Then I obviously had a bad six months, but then I think my performance over the last couple of years now has been where it should be and been really consistent.And after that, not getting picked by Thomas Tuchel and after you finished so well this season. Do you feel like you should be in the England team?Yeah, obviously it was disappointing. I thought I would have been in the team, but no, he's obviously spoke out and I'm sure he's made his decision for a reason. I haven't spoken to him. So, no, it's time to work again next season and do everything I can to give him no choice but to put me back in the team.

It's been a frustrating 18 months with England, I must say, just because I've been unfortunate with injuries every time. Obviously the Euros last summer, where I would have started every game, I had to pull out with my calf and then I was in the next camp and then I haven't been in a camp since just because of my calf injuries or different injuries.

And then this one, the squad was announced, and he's obviously gone down a different path with giving others opportunities and now it's down to me next season to give him no opportunity but to put me back on the team.After that crazy night in Lyon, one's mind almost goes back to 1999 in Barcelona. How well do you remember that Champions League final versus Bayern Munich?I was a young boy, I was only born in 1993. But I've seen a lot of clips. And obviously there was Ole (scored the 93rd-min winner). He's been my manager and a big mentor. I must say he's had a big influence in my career. It's an iconic football moment. It's a huge moment in this club's history and now it's one that if you play for this club, you cherish.Looking forward, you will be losing your centre back partner all these years, Victor Lindelof. If given a choice as a senior member in the squad, who would you like as your partner in defence for the next season?We have obviously a lot of very good defenders. I don't really focus on who my partner will be. Speaking on Victor, he's been a wonderful servant for Manchester United. It was a pleasure to play alongside him. He's an amazing guy, a top footballer, really underrated footballer.

And we had some great years together. Our partnership in my first two years at the club speaks for itself. The facts are there. The clean sheets that we kept together.Harry, you mentioned about travelling to Asia and you were very vocal about the club needing to generate money by travelling to Asia, considering that you would have lost a lot of TV money because of the position that the club ended up in. Are spreadsheets, accounts and revenues also on the minds of players these days or is it just about goals and assists?No, I think as a player you're more focused on the pitch, of course.

I think we see coming to Asia as an opportunity to see the fans and to see different cultures. I haven't come over here thinking about how much money… we don't know yet. We don't have a clue what you're talking money wise. But I think it's just amazing to come over here and just see our fans. And when you come to places like this, you get a real feel on how big the club is and how special the club is.

And it gives you really great pride to play for this club when you come away from places like Malaysia and India and you see the fans; how passionate they are.

So that's what our feeling is as players.Which would you say is the heavier shirt at this moment to wear, Harry? The United shirt or the England shirt?(Laughs gently) Good question. No, I think it's amazing to wear both shirts. When I was a young boy, if you would have asked me two things I wanted to do, it would be to play for Manchester United and play for England. So, I'm the luckiest man alive, I believe. It's been a pleasure to play nearly 250 games for Manchester United, 60 odd games for England.How does something like this Apollo Tyres United We Play initiative help especially after a tough season?Yeah, it's been a real nice day. It's been amazing to see the different culture and to meet a lot of people and to spend the afternoon playing with children and just seeing how happy they are and putting smiles on their faces. I think that's been so important. It's nice and refreshing to come over here.