Harry Maguire has revealed that David Beckham called him after England’s win over Scotland last month to offer the centre-back advice on how to handle the abuse being thrown in his direction.
The mockery of Maguire hit new heights when he was jeered relentlessly by Scotland fans after coming on as a substitute at Hampden Park. Gareth Southgate described the treatment of the Manchester United defender as a “joke” after the game and has subsequently blamed much of the abuse on social media.
However Maguire has managed to stay strong, partly because of support from his family and Southgate, and he has taken inspiration from the new documentary series about Beckham on Netflix. Beckham was pilloried after being sent off when England lost to Argentina at the 1998 World Cup and although he did not let the abuse from fans and the media affect his football, he reveals in the documentary that it took a toll on his mental health.
“I actually spoke with David about three weeks ago after the Scotland game,” Maguire said. “He got in touch with me so it was really nice of him and I really appreciated that. If you watch the documentary David explains a lot of how he dealt with it.”
Maguire was full of praise for Beckham, who went on to captain England, and listened closely to the former United midfielder’s take on the situation. “It meant everything,” he said. “I’ve spoken about David Beckham being someone I looked up to and watched when I was a young boy. Unfortunately I didn’t end up on the right wing scoring and assisting as many goals as he has. But he was a big role model when I was growing up. It shows how classy he is to reach out and message me. It was something I really appreciate. It was touching.
“The main thing he did is he reminded me of the career I’ve had to date and the big moments I’ve had in my career. When you’re going through tough moments you’ve got to go through past experiences and where you’ve gone in your career.”
Maguire has kept his place in the England squad despite falling out of favour at United and being stripped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag. But he has learned from Beckham’s resilience after that red card against Argentina.
“Every career is so up and down, especially when you reach what I’ve reached, in terms of being the captain of the biggest club in the world for three and a half years,” Maguire said. “He’s been in that position and knows what it’s like. Obviously having watched the documentary I couldn’t believe how much he went through.”
Maguire, who is in contention to start when England host Australia in a friendly on Friday, has looked to drown out the abuse.
“I try and stay away from it all,” the 30-year-old said. “Obviously you can’t stay away from it as your family and friends are probably seeing things. They probably read a lot more than I do. There has been a lot of talk about me over the last year.”
Injuries in defence saw Maguire start when United earned a crucial win over Brentford last weekend. He provided the assist for Scott McTominay’s stoppage-time winner.
But Maguire knows that his place in England’s starting lineup at Euro 2024 is in doubt if he is not a regular for his club for the rest of the campaign. He could be forced to assess his situation in January. West Ham tried to sign him last summer.
“I am not going to sit here all my life and play once a month, and if it carries on I am sure myself and the club will sit down and have a chat,” he said. “But at the moment I am focused on two games for England, and then on fighting to try and win back my place at United.”
Maguire added that he does not look at comments about him on social media any more. “I don’t read anything to be honest,” he said. “It will impact a lot of players – especially the younger players. It is part of it and they are going to have to accept that it is. It will be tough for the young players but the main advice would be don’t read it, come off it and speak to people who are close to you.”
