ACCRA (Reuters) – Manchester United footballer Harry Maguire on Wednesday accepted the apology of a Ghanaian MP who mocked him during a parliamentary debate on the budget last year.
Opposition lawmaker Isaac Adongo compared Vice-President Mahamadu Bawumia’s economic management of the embattled West African nation to Maguire’s performance on the pitch.
In an address widely circulated on social media last year, Adongo likened Bawumia to Maguire, describing him as “the biggest threat at the centre of the Manchester United defence”.
The reference was part of a wider speech accusing Bawumia of mismanaging the economy and inflicting hardship on citizens.
Ghana is contending with its worst economic crisis in a generation induced by spiraling public debt, leading to rampant inflation and a weakened local currency.
In a similar debate on the 2024 budget on Tuesday, Adongo said Maguire had “turned the corner” and retracted his analogy.
“I now apologize to Harry Maguire,” Adongo said. “He is a transformational footballer, now scoring goals for Manchester United.”
Maguire acknowledged the apology in a post on X on Wednesday.
“See you at Old Trafford soon,” he wrote, referring to the home of Manchester United.
But he did not relent his criticism of Bawumia, accusing him of “roaming” around the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “with a cup in hand”.
Ghana’s government turned to the IMF for help last year. The Fund approved a three-year, $3 billion program in May, with an immediate disbursement of $600 million.
Bawumia heads the government’s economic management team and has been selected as the ruling party candidate for the 2024 elections.
(Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombile; Editing by Sofia Christensen and Josie Kao)
