EXCLUSIVE
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Former Manchester United assistant Rene Meulensteen has called social media ‘the gutter of society’ amid intense criticism of Harry Maguire.
The Dutchman is currently an assistant of the Australia national side, having formerly coached under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford between 2007 and 2013.
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Meulensteen was present in Manchester for many of the club’s Premier League glory years, but since he and Ferguson left in 2013, things have only gone downhill.
They club is trophyless in five years under a series of different managers, with recruitment often to blame for a worrying lack of success.
Among their big spends that haven’t paid off such as Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba, Maguire - the world’s most expensive defender - saw his decent start tail off in recent seasons.
That’s seen him dropped from Erik ten Hag’s line-up this season despite being club captain, but he has managed to keep his spot in Gareth Southgate’s England XI.
That decision has been treated with derision online, and Meulensteen has commented on the nasty state of social media.
“It comes with the territory, as long as the criticism is constructive and not personal you should be able to deal with that as a professional,” he explained to talkSPORT Breakfast.
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“But social media has become the gutter of society.
“I still remember when it came to Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson was still there and I said, ‘Listen this is something that’s going to stay here’.
“It’s a vehicle that people have the chance to air their opinion. This has been there for thousands of years but they can do it now without emotion, without consequences.
“It’s the people that the criticism's aimed at, they have to deal with it and that’s not always nice and Harry is going through a very, very tough time, he needs to protect himself from that.”
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Meulensteen’s son Melle plays for Eredivisie side Vitesse, and has also had to deal with the consequences of social media.
While it’s hard for many to simply delete your account, Meulensteen senior often gives his child advice.
He explained: “I have a son who plays in Holland professionally and I always say there are people if you have one wrong pass they shout everything at you that you’re absolutely hopeless.
“There’s no point, they’ve got nothing, the people close to you they have value to add to what really matters and that’s what you’ve got to stay close to.”
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