Man United captain, Harry Maguire was told to ‘quit the club or die’ with the defender given 72 hours or three bombs would be detonated at his family home
Harry Maguire was reportedly threatened that his house would be bombed within 72 hours if he did not quit Manchester United in a horrific death threat.
The England defender received a bomb threat to his home on Wednesday. The threat was reported to Cheshire Police, who conducted a sweep of the footballer’s home.
Police sniffer dogs carried out urgent bomb searches at the Cheshire mansion he shares with fiancee Fern Hawkins and their two daughters, following the anonymous email sent to his agent.
The security team around the Man United captain and England defender is also thought to have been beefed up.
But The Sun claim the 29-year-old was given a chilling ultimatum which gave him 72 hours to quit his club or have three bombs which had been planted at his house detonated.
The report adds the centre-back was at United’s Carrington training ground when he was made aware of the sickening message on Wednesday – a day after United had suffered a 4-0 defeat by Liverpool – and consequently rushed home.
His fiancee and daughters Lillie Saint, two, and Piper Rose, one next month, have gone to a safe house while Maguire himself is staying with a team-mate, the report adds.
The same outlet claims Maguire is in the process of purchasing new CCTV and 24/7 guards, and that police once again searched his house on Thursday but found nothing.
A source told The Sun: ‘This was taken very seriously. Harry and his teammates regularly receive death threats on social media but this was different.
‘The email said three bombs had been planted at his home. He had 72 hours to leave United or they’d be detonated. It was dripping with hatred and abuse.
‘Fern was hysterical. She doesn’t feel safe anymore. She’s had enough of the abuse Harry gets. It’s relentless, personal and out of order. Enough is enough.
‘They’re a close family and Harry has always put them first but at the same time he refuses to give into the hate mob.’
Police said they were ‘called to reports of a bomb threat at an address in the Wilmslow area,’ and that ‘no evacuations took place, but as a precautionary measure a police explosives dog has attended the address this afternoon, Thursday, 21 April, to conduct a search of the gardens and surrounding area.’
A spokesperson for Maguire described the incident as ‘a serious threat’ but insisted the defender was ‘continuing to prepare for this weekend’s fixture as normal’.
But The Athletic claim while he is keen to travel with the squad that faces Arsenal on Saturday, he is likely to be on the substitutes’ bench if and when interim manager Ralf Rangnick needs him.
German boss Rangnick offered his support to Maguire, saying: ‘I only got to know about this terrible, terrible thing on Thursday afternoon and I haven’t been able to speak with him. It’s another bad sign of the crazy world we’re living in. I feel sorry for Harry. He knows everyone is behind him.’.
Erik Ten Hag Selects New ‘Leader’ Of Man Utd Project In Bitter Blow to Harry Maguire
Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Erik ten Hag as the club’s new First Team Manager, with the Dutchman set to have his say on a number of key areas, including the captaincy.
Incoming Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has reportedly identified Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong as one of his top targets to lead the revolution at Old Trafford.
Earlier this week, the 52-year-old was confirmed as the club’s next permanent manager and will begin his reign at the end of the season. But with his appointment now announced, thoughts are already turning to how Ten Hag will go about arresting the slide which has set in at the Red Devils.
The Dutchman joins United with the club at their lowest ebb in a generation, amidst a five-year trophy drought and trailing their biggest rivals by a country mile. Ten Hag is set to conduct a major overhaul in the summer, putting his own stamp on the playing staff.
One dilemma the new manager will have to deal with quickly and definitively is the debate over who will be the United skipper next term. Harry Maguire has had the armband this season, but his dramatic decline in form has seen his position come under serious scrutiny.
It has been claimed that his United team-mates have questioned his standing in the squad, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick continuing to keep him in the firing line in spite of his often below-par performances.
Maguire hit back at those sentiments in a passionate message, stating: “This season, I’ve had some bad games. But I wouldn’t be playing every game for Manchester United in the starting eleven if I’d been playing bad every game or not playing well enough.”