Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has spoken about why he chose to join United over rivals Manchester City.
Maguire joined the club from Leicester City in August 2019 after a protracted negotiation, and told Gary Neville why he opted for the Old Trafford side.
Harry Maguire
"They were both interested, I spoke to Manchester City and I spoke to Manchester United," Maguire told The Overlap.
"I grew up watching Manchester United, no disrespect to Manchester City, so I always had my heart set on this club.
"I spoke to Pep and obviously the football they play and what he's done for the club. [I have] great respect for him and what he's done for football, but my heart was set.
"It gave me great confidence and belief, for [United] to pursue it over a 12, 15 month period, they showed how much they believed in me and how much I would be a big part of the team."
Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played a part in Maguire's decision.
"The first time I spoke to Ole, he just told me how much he feels I can come in and improve the team.
"It was a time where Manchester United wasn't where it needed to be, they were conceding a lot of goals.
"I knew I wasn't going to be the final part of the jigsaw, I knew the scrutiny would come. I had to come into the team and make sure we improved, and we are doing that... but we've got a long way to go"
Maguire gave an insight into how social media plays into players' minds.
'When I first joined, I looked at it too much,' Maguire said of social media.
"It is something we can look into, we can improve that [the abuse of players online.]
"I think I handle it quite well, I don't read too much into it. It is all about opinions, but the main opinion is the manager.
"It is hard to get away from social media, though. It's not nice when you're seeing negative things."
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