Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has dismissed claims that player unrest had anything to do with the club's exit from the Champions League.
The Red Devils will end a fifth successive season without a trophy after bowing out of Europe’s premier club competition at home to Atletico Madrid.
Having failed to build on scarcely deserved draw in the first leg of this last-16 clash in Spain, Renan Lodi's first-half header secured a 1-0 Old Trafford win as the Spanish club progressed to the quarter-finals.
It comes amid a backdrop of reported unrest in the dressing room.
Ronaldo is believed to have surprised some team-mates by flying back to Portugal around the time of the Manchester derby, a game he missed through injury, while Marcus Rashford is said to be unhappy with his limited game time under interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
Harry Maguire insists there are no dressing-room feuds at Old Trafford but admits the Manchester United players "have got to do more as a team. We owe it to the club, we owe it to the fans." #ChampionsLeague #MUNATM pic.twitter.com/iscdQjyDVy
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 16, 2022
There has also been speculation that some players have questioned whether Maguire should remain as captain when he has struggled for form all season.
Last week Rangnick dismissed such talk, and Maguire was on the same page in assessing the loss to Atletico.
"There’s no problems in the dressing room," Maguire insisted after the 1-0 defeat. "When you play for this club, there’s always reports and lots of media attention.
"It’s got nothing to do with the result."
The England international, who was substituted late in the game with United chasing an equaliser, conceded that the Red Devils did not deserve to advance overt the course of the two-legged tie and have flattered to deceive all season.
"We can do more as a team. We’ve got to do more, we owe it to the club, we owe it to the fans.
"We have to look at ourselves as players
"The lads gave everything, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough. We haven’t been good enough this season."
"They are a team with a lot of experience. They know how to play those tight games." - David de Gea remains diplomatic about his former side Atletico Madrid's antics in their #ChampionsLeague win over Man United #MUNATM pic.twitter.com/HyLdaFxZmE
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 16, 2022
David De Gea bemoaned "another bad year" for a club that are now only fighting for a top-four finish – an uphill battle given Arsenal in the final spot have games in hand on floundering United.
The Gunners could be seven points clear of Ralf Rangnick’s side by the time they play again next month and skipper Maguire says they have to keep battling together.
"Of course it’s going to be a disappointing couple of weeks now," he said as Atleti fans continued to sing long after the final whistle at Old Trafford.
"The lads need to go, have a rest but make sure that we come back fighting for the end of the season.
"We’ve got nine important Premier League games that we need to try to win every game that we play in, stick together.
"My job as captain obviously has a big role in that as well and making sure that we stick together and we finish the season strong – because we owe it to the fans."
United do not return to action until hosting Leicester on 2 April and the intervening period is sure to be one of uncomfortable criticism and introspection for those in the dressing room.
Maguire was sarcastically cheered by home fans when replaced towards the end of Tuesday's loss to Atletico, whose experience and nous was clear as they simultaneously wound down the clock and their opponents up.
"I think the style in Europe, it’s not for me to really comment on," the defender said. "But, yeah, I think every time you touch someone, it’s a foul.
"I mean Anthony (Elanga) has a header in the first couple of minutes. Heads the ball over the bar, the keeper probably comes and clatters him and he gets the foul, so, yeah, it’s a different style.
"I think – as a team – we’ve maybe got learn from it, got to grow from it and don’t lose our discipline.
"I felt like the last 20 to 30 minutes of the game we should have been pushing and creating a little bit more but we got too frustrated, we started losing our shape and we lost momentum in the game.
"That’s something that we need to learn from but it’s a difficult night tonight because the lads are disappointed."
Meanwhile, United are reviewing CCTV footage after objects were thrown at Atletico head coach Diego Simeone as he ran down the tunnel at full-time.
Anyone found to have thrown items faces a three-year ban under ground regulations.
UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary body is waiting on the referee and delegate’s report before deciding whether to sanction United.
