Maguire thanks United icon Beckham for support

Harry Maguire thanked David Beckham for his support on Wednesday.

The embattled Manchester United and England centre-back revealed that the Old Trafford legend called him after this month's 3-1 victory over Scotland in a friendly in which his own goal gave his opponents their lone marker and led to jeers from England supporters.

Like Maguire, Beckham had been the target of abuse from Three Lions fans after his red card against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup Round of 16 helped lead to England's ouster, something that Beckham relived in a new four-part documentary series released last week on Netflix.

"He got in touch with me so it was really nice of him and I really appreciated that," Maguire said. "If you watch the documentary, David explains a lot of how he dealt with it.”

Maguire, 29. says he was a boyhood fan of the midfielder from United's famed Class of '92.

“I’ve spoken about David Beckham being someone I looked up to and watched when I was a young boy," Maguire said. "Unfortunately, I didn’t end up on the right wing scoring and assisting as many goals as he has. But he was a big role model when I was growing up. It shows how classy he is to reach out and message me. It was something I really appreciate. It was touching. The main thing he did is he reminded me of the career I’ve had to date and the big moments I’ve had in my career. When you’re going through tough moments you’ve got to go through past experiences and where you’ve gone in your career.”

With an injury crisis in Erik ten Hag's backline, Maguire returned to the Red Devils' starting XI this past Saturday in a 2-1 victory over Brentford in which the former Leicester City defender set up Scott McTominay's last-gasp winner.

Currently on England duty, Maguire and the Three Lions host Australia in a friendly on Friday before a visit from Italy on Monday in Euro qualifying in a rematch of the 2020 Euro final.