Manchester United defender Harry Maguire was threatened by a fan that his house would be bombed if he didn’t quit the Premier League club. 

The 29-year-old is reportedly staying with a teammate, while his fiancee, Fern Hawkins, and their two daughters are in a safe house, as per The Sun. 

As per the ultimatum, Maguire was given 72 hours to quit the club, with the bomb threat alleging there were three explosive devices in his house. The report states the threat went to Maguire’s agent, and the player was at Carrington, training for the next United fixture after the Red Devils lost 4-0 to title contenders Liverpool, at Anfield, on Tuesday. 

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However, Maguire rushed to be with his partner and daughters after the message, as per reports, and the English professional footballer also upped the security, with new CCTV cameras and 24/7 guards. As per The Sun, police also searched Maguire’s house on Thursday but found no credible threat. 

A source told The Sun “It was dripping with hatred and abuse”, speaking of the threat, and went on to detail how it had the defender’s fiancee feeling hysterical and unsafe. The source further said, “They’re a close family and Harry has always put them first but at the same time he refuses to give in to the hate mob.” 

When United go up against Arsenal, who are coming off an away victory at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, Maguire is not expected to start. 

The defender has been having a poor spell of games and has become the butt of jokes, including the invention of “no-look defending” where Maguire’s head was turned away from the goal in a fixture against Sevilla, leading United to concede one. 

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More recently, Maguire’s tendency to hurt teammates inadvertently, while in the opponent’s penalty box, has also drawn ire. He headbutted Cristiano Ronaldo in the Tottenham fixture, and kicked Paul Pogba in the match against Norwich, leaving the French midfielder bleeding and a little furious. 

Nemanja Vidic, the Serbian ex-United centre back, has posited that Maguire should be made to play some smaller games to regain his confidence before being eased back to more critical fixtures. However, given the fans’ dissatisfaction, and the Englishman’s form, it remains to be seen what his future at United holds, with former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag now poised to take over the managerial reins for the Old Trafford side.