Man Utd’s new CEO: Harry Maguire was overpriced

Carlo Garganese

• 24 Jan 2024 15:00 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United’s incoming CEO Omar Berrada believes that his new club overpaid for Harry Maguire.

Berrada was last week confirmed as United’s new CEO, with the French-Moroccan chief leaving city rivals Manchester City to take the job.

The 46-year-old played a key role in Man City’s success over recent years and his appointment is seen as something of a couple as United look to build a similarly successful project under new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

One of the areas Berrada will look to improve massively is how United operate on the transfer market.

United have been guilty of blowing cash on a number of expensive flops in the last decade.

One of the most cited examples of this poor transfer policy was the signing of Harry Maguire from Leicester for a world-record fee of around €87 million in 2019.

City had initially been in the running to sign Maguire, also, but pulled out of negotiations because Berrada thought the defender was overpriced.

What did Berrada say about Harry Maguire?

“In terms of Harry Maguire, we (Man City) have shown very clearly over the last few seasons that we will only go for a transfer if we feel it is the right valuation,” Berrada told The Athletic in 2020.

“So we look at the player’s quality, age, experience, what he can bring to the team, and then decide the correct valuation.

“If we feel it’s the right one, we will do it. If not, we will walk away from the deal and look for other candidates. But at the same time, if we walk away from a certain deal, it doesn’t mean we necessarily have to go for another player to fill that position. We will only get the players that we feel will improve our squad and make a significant contribution.”

Maguire has endured three miserable past seasons for Man Utd, ever since Euro 2020.

After an error-prone 2021-22 season, he finally lost his place in the first team during the 2022-23 campaign as manager Ten Hag preferred Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as his centre back pairing.

Maguire also started the current season down the pecking order but an injury crisis saw him return to the fold. His form has improved recently but United are enduring a disastrous season as a whole.