Micah Richards has told Manchester United to replace Harry Maguire with Cristiano Ronaldo as captain of the club.
Maguire has been criticised heavily by supporters and pundits for his performance in defence this season. This came to a head on Tuesday night when the former Leicester City player was cheered off the pitch after being replaced by Juan Mata.
In his Daily Mail column, Richards explained that the criticism of Maguire had become too much and that only a change to the captaincy would help cool the situation. He explained: "Harry Maguire needs help in his role as Manchester United captain.
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"This may sound like I’m joining the flood of criticism, but that is absolutely not the case. Questioning whether the armband could, in the short term, be passed to Cristiano Ronaldo is no reflection on Harry’s ability or character.
"I’ve been a fan of his for a long time. He’s an outstanding England international, who will play many games at the highest level for years to come.
"It’s not my role to defend people, but the reason I feel so passionately about why the captaincy should be moved on to Ronaldo — for the time being — is based on everything Harry is experiencing on a personal level. The situation, in my eyes, came to a head on Tuesday against Atletico Madrid.
"I was in the studio, working for CBS, and when I heard some fans inside Old Trafford cheering as Harry was brought off, my heart sank. I’ve been in that position — some Aston Villa fans booed my name when it was read out at Villa Park once — and the feeling is like no other.
" Manchester United fans, the hardcore who stick with their team through thick and thin, would not have cheered. Real fans don’t cheer when one of their own is having a bad time; they remain loyal and offer encouragement.
"We are now in an era, though, where a section of supporters are seemingly going to matches for the experience of the day rather than to fully support their team. Maybe it makes them feel good when they turn on someone; maybe they look forward to getting their target’s name trending online.
"What shocks me about the treatment Harry is receiving is that it feels like there is added venom behind it all — critics are saying the likes of ‘he should never wear the shirt again’ and they call him ‘slabhead’ and other things, plenty of which is unprintable. It’s disgraceful, it crosses the line."
Earlier this year Maguire took to Twitter to dispel rumours that there had been a bust up in the United dressing room between himself and Ronaldo about who should be captain of the Reds. When asked about it in a press conference, interim boss Ralf Rangnick was quick to outline that the 29-year-old would be remaining his captain.
United are not in action for the rest of March due to Liverpool's involvement in the FA Cup. On Thursday, despite wavering form, Maguire was called up to the England squad for matches against Switzerland and Ivory Coast.
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