Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville and former Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher have agreed that Harry Maguire has suffered as United captain as a result of Cristiano Ronaldo's return to the club.
Maguire, who was booed by sections of England supporters during Tuesday evening's 3-0 win over the Ivory Coast at Wembley, has experienced a difficult season at Old Trafford. He has also committed a whole host of individual errors and has been forced to withstand his fair share of criticism this season.
However, you could not help but feel sorry for the centre-back on Tuesday evening, with his performances for England having always been solid, including en route to the Euro 2020 final. Nevertheless, though, his United career has come under pressure this season and his future at the club, not least as captain, is under threat.
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However, Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane as captain at Old Trafford, understands how Maguire must currently be feeling, suggesting that Ronaldo's arrival at the club last August changed the dynamic. The forward was signed from Juventus, just as he looked set to join Manchester City, and immediately became the marquee name at the club again.
Neville, speaking at The Overlap Live, said: "There is no doubt that the introduction of Cristiano into the club has meant that he feels inferior, and I can see that because I felt inferior when I first took over the captaincy when Roy left. I felt inferior and you do.
"Harry Maguire will think 'that's Cristiano Ronaldo, he is the greatest player of all-time, he's captain of his country, he wins European tournaments and I know that he is looking at me on the pitch'. It undermines him.
"Harry hasn't got the experience yet in a difficult time to say, 'Sit down, you'. I was OK, in the sense that I was still in a successful team and we had a settled dressing room still.
"It was difficult for me when I first took over because of that inferiority complex. There is no doubt that Harry Maguire's confidence will be knocked and he will feel inferior, because of the other players in the team, I have no doubt."
Fellow Sky Sports pundit Carragher agreed with Neville's argument about Ronaldo's return impacting Maguire's position. But he also stressed that the centre-back is now playing for his future at the club, not just the captain's armband.
"I think Harry Maguire, forget the captaincy, is fighting for his Manchester United career now, there is no doubt about it," Carragher said. "I do think there is a big problem with respect in the dressing room; there are clicks and Gary probably knows that better than me.
"But I think with the stage that Harry Maguire is at, and I have always been a fan of him, in terms of how his career has gone, and always making that next step, I thought it was right that he was captain at Man United last season. It was almost like he was leading, not a young team, but an emerging team, each year getting slightly better and closer to a trophy.
"I think Ronaldo coming in has definitely changed the dynamic within that. But that is not me having a go at Ronaldo — Maguire has got to deal with that if you are United captain.
"But right now, with the way that he is actually playing, Harry Maguire is fighting for his future as a player. If you were in his position, where you are captain of Manchester United and someone like Ronaldo comes in and the the dynamic changes, how would you go about it?
"He cannot afford to lose this fight, because he would have to leave Manchester United and he is not going anywhere better than United on the level of United. Right now he is actually fighting for how he is seen."
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