John Terry congratulates Harry Maguire on overtaking him as England’s highest scoring defender

John Terry congratulates Harry Maguire on overtaking him as England’s highest scoring defender… and takes a swipe at the star’s arch critic Roy Keane after he called the Manchester United man a ‘disgrace’

  • John Terry has taken to social media to congratulate defender Harry Maguire
  • Maguire became England’s highest scoring centre-back on Monday evening
  • He scored the Three Lion’s opening goal in their 10-0 win over San Marino
  • The United captain’s effort marked his second goal in as many appearances
  • Terry appeared to hit at Roy Keane following his recent criticism of Maguire 


John Terry has taken to social media to congratulate Harry Maguire on overtaking him as England’s highest-scoring defender.

The Manchester United captain scored England’s opening goal in their 10-0 win over San Marino on Monday to surpass Terry’s record of six international goals. 

Maguire’s second goal in as many games, following a header against Albania last Friday, helped the Three Lions book their place at the 2022 World Cup.

John Terry has taken to social media to congratulate Harry Maguire (middle) on overtaking him as England’s highest scoring defender

Terry (above) scored six international goals for England and Maguire has now netted seven

Terry (above) scored six international goals for England and Maguire has now netted seven

Terry also took the opportunity to shut down arguably the Manchester United defender’s biggest critic, Roy Keane. 

Keane branded Harry Maguire’s celebration against Albania last week ’embarrassing’. The former United midfielder said on ITV: ‘He puts his hand to his ear. He’s like shutting the critics up but I think that’s embarrassing.

‘He’s been a disgrace the past few months for Manchester United. He thinks he scores there, he’s going to shut his critics up. Embarrassing.’

Terry appeared to take a swipe at Keane while congratulating Maguire on Twitter, writing: ‘Congratulations mate. England’s highest goal-scoring defender. Let’s see if a few of these pundits talk about that.’

Terry took to Twitter to write: 'Congratulations mate. England's highest goal-scoring defender. Let’s see if a few of these pundits talk about that'

Terry took to Twitter to write: ‘Congratulations mate. England’s highest goal-scoring defender. Let’s see if a few of these pundits talk about that’

Terry’s most recent tweet came shortly after he supported Micah Richards, who took to social media to disagree with Keane’s comments about Maguire’s celebration. 

Richards hit out at Keane for shaming players for having ‘no personality’ and then criticising them for showing some character during their goal celebrations.

He said: ‘People: Footballers are like robots, they have no personality!

‘Harry Maguire. Scores the opening goal for his country, celebrates with real passion whilst referencing those who have been criticising him. People: That’s embarrassing.’

Former England captain Terry responded to Richards’ tweet, saying: ‘100% agree mate’. 

Terry's most recent Tweet came shortly after he supported Micah Richards - who took to social media to disagree with Keane's comments about Maguire's celebration

Terry’s most recent Tweet came shortly after he supported Micah Richards – who took to social media to disagree with Keane’s comments about Maguire’s celebration

Meanwhile, England manager Gareth Southgate reserved special praise for Harry Kane after the Three Lions beat San Marino on Monday evening. 

As it stands, Kane is now five goals behind Wayne Rooney’s tally of 53 as England’s highest ever scorer. 

Southgate said: ‘If we left him (Kane) on another half an hour, we would have had Wayne Rooney’s family on the phone.

‘He is a phenomenal goalscorer, we wanted to give him the chance tonight and he took it well.’ 

England manager Gareth Southgate also reserved special praise for his striker Harry Kane

England manager Gareth Southgate also reserved special praise for his striker Harry Kane 

Kane is now five goals behind Wayne Rooney's tally of 53 as England's highest ever scorer

Kane is now five goals behind Wayne Rooney’s tally of 53 as England’s highest ever scorer 

Southgate also said that his side can be proud of their year as the curtain comes down on international football in 2021.  

‘I love doing the role – it’s a privilege. The team buy into what we’re doing, we can still get better and there’s so much to look forward to,’ Southgate said. ‘The qualification was earned away in Budapest, Warsaw and Albania. 

‘I have to credit all our players and staff for a very good year. We cannot do anything about the level of opposition but the mentality and the way they applied themselves was terrific.’  

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