Maguire took to social media on Sunday afternoon to announce that he had been stripped of the Old Trafford captaincy after three-and-a-half years following talks with manager Erik ten Hag.
“After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain,” the England defender wrote on Twitter. “He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt.
“So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband. Since the day I took on the role, three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date.
“It’s one of the greatest honours in club football. I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful – on and off the field. I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support.”
It remains to be seen if Maguire will remain at United this summer after Ten Hag’s ruthless decision, with West Ham known to be interested in a summer deal.
Attention will now quickly turn to the identity of Maguire’s successor as captain, with Bruno Fernandes unsurprisingly installed as the obvious early bookmakers’ favourite to be given the armband on a full-time basis.
The Portuguese international regularly stepped up to lead the team last season, when Maguire was restricted to just 13 starts across all competitions under Ten Hag as United ended their six-year trophy drought with Carabao Cup success and also secured a return to the Champions League courtesy of a third-place Premier League finish.
BonusCodeBets have Fernandes currently odds-on to take the captaincy, with fellow midfielder Casemiro next on the list of potential contenders, despite having only joined United from Real Madrid last summer.
Star striker Marcus Rashford comes in next, followed by first-choice centre-backs Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, plus academy graduate midfielder Scott McTominay.
Experienced goalkeeper David de Gea may well have been thought of as a potential option to replace Maguire, but United’s longest-serving player has now left the club following 12 years and the expiration of his contract.
Next Manchester United captain odds
Bruno Fernandes 1/2
Casemiro 7/2
Marcus Rashford 5/1
Lisandro Martinez 12/1
Raphael Varane 16/1
Scott McTominay 25/1
