England centre-back and Leicester defender Harry Maguire signed an historic £80 million with Manchester United on Monday, as reported by the BBC.
The 26-year old star was offered a six-year contract with potential for an additional year.
The contract makes Maguire the most expensive defender in the world, overtaking the £75 million contract between Liverpool and Southampton for Virgil van Dijk last year.
The world cup star was just beaten by team-mate Paul Pogba's £89 million deal, establishing Maguire as the second most expensive English player as well as the second most expensive British player behind Welsh winger Gareth Bale, who signed for £85 million in 2013 with Real Madrid.
So far this summer, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's has overseen 3 signings: purchasing right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace for £50m and winger Daniel James from Swansea for £15m.
Maguire told the BBC that "It's clear to see that Ole is building a team to win trophies. I am now looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and getting the season started."
The star posted his sincere thank you in a tweet.
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) August 5, 2019
Twitter saw a variety of reactions to the signing.
— Barry 🔰 (@barry007j) August 5, 2019
Some calling it the biggest signing in years.
— Hasnain (@HasnainUTD) August 5, 2019
Fellow Man United player David de Gea sent a warm and simple welcome.
— David de Gea (@D_DeGea) August 5, 2019
Former team-mate's wished him well in the new position.
— James Maddison (@Madders10) August 5, 2019
Some tweeted jokes about what players Leicester could purchase with the money made.
— Deluded Brendan (@DeludedBrendan) August 5, 2019
Others noted the high price tag.
— Steve (@gegenpresser21) August 2, 2019
— Matthew Sutton (@matthewxsutton) August 5, 2019
Users recognised a pattern of league wins following the purchase Leicester players.
— ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴛɪᴘsᴛᴇʀ™ (@itytipster) August 5, 2019
However, some were not so convinced.
— Samuel Pinzi (@SamuelPinziAFC) August 5, 2019
Maguire began his career at Sheffield United, making 139 league appearances prior to joining Hull in 2014.
He later signed a five-year deal to join Leicester in September 2018, making 69 Premier League appearances.
The Leicester player soon gained serious national recognition the same year when he helped the England team reach the semi-finals in the Russia World Cup.
