The centre-back opened the scoring for Man Utd
Harry Maguire dedicated his goal against Leeds United on Sunday to seven-year-old supporter River Rhodes, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
The Manchester United captain opened the scoring for the away side as the Red Devils secured an important 4-2 victory at Elland Road, putting them fourth in the Premier League table.
The 28-year-old met with River last week, where he played football with him, posed for photos and handed him a home shirt. Maguire later replied to a post from the young fan saying: “That was for you River.”
That was for you River 🙌🏼❤️
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) February 20, 2022
Rhodes had originally said: “Good luck Man Utd (and) Harry Maguire, score a header for me mate, don’t forget the knee slide.”
Yes @hotelfootballuk second half 😂😂 @Riverthechamp is coming bk again , to watch the game .. good luck @ManUtd @HarryMaguire93 score a header for me mate , dolt forget the knee slide 🙌🙏🙌⚽️⚽️ spreading the love of football .. yes big raheeem pic.twitter.com/PyIgzm6BZv
— Riverthechamp RR7🧤🧤🧤 (@Riverthechamp) February 20, 2022
The gesture was praised by several people on social media, including United legend and current Derby boss Wayne Rooney, who commented on the Instagram post saying it was ‘class.’
https://www.instagram.com/p/CaF3SZEA9Ia/
River, who comes from the Midlands, is living with cancer and is in Manchester where he receives radiotherapy treatment.
Despite coming from a family of Wolves supporters, the seven-year-old is a big fan of the England international and the Red Devils.
The former Hull City man thanked the youngster for the meet-up last week, saying: “Absolute pleasure to meet this legend today.
“A great chat and even better kick about. Thanks River. Stay strong.”
Maguire, who has been criticised in recent weeks, with rumours about the United captaincy escalating, responded to his critics on Sunday with the opening goal against Leeds in the first-half.
It was an important win for the Red Devils, who now travel to Madrid to take on Atlético on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.
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