Petition launched to put Harry Maguire riding a unicorn on new £50 note Leicester and England defender could go head to head with Margaret Thatcher to be the new face of the red banknote

He’s a Premier League footballer, England international and World Cup hero – but could Harry Maguire be the new face of the £50 note?

Thousands of football fans have backed a campaign to put the Leicester City defender on the note when it is redesigned by the Bank of England.

At the time of writing, more than 3,000 people have signed the Change.org petition – which calls for an image of England’s Maguire riding an inflatable unicorn on to be proudly emblazoned on the new £50.

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Maguire vs Margaret Thatcher

More serious public campaigns for the note include Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana and Emmeline Pankhurst.

Maguire’s main rival on the petition website at the moment is former Prime Minister Thatcher, with over 8,000 people backing the Iron Lady so far.

The petition for Maguire was started by Jonny Sharples, who wrote: “The Bank of England are redesigning the £50 following the successful redesign of the £5, £10, and £20 notes.

[Extemely Busted voice]: I said we've reached signature 3000 / Harry Maguire's unicorn floats on water / And every football supporter / Should come and signhttps://t.co/HLvJgNRRm8 — Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) October 16, 2018

“None of these notes so far have featured a World Cup semi finalist floating on a mythical creature, and in the interests of football’s attempts to come home, who would be more appropriate to feature than Harry Maguire riding an inflatable unicorn?”

‘The only sensible choice’

Speaking to i about why he started the campaign, Sharples explained: “Think back to the summer; the sun was shining, people were happy, they were throwing £7.95 pints of warm beer in the air in “Box Parks” across east London. And why? Because of Harry Maguire and his massive head.

“So, I think it’s important we commemorate the most beautiful summer in our nation’s most recent past, and what better way to do that than put the country’s third most famous Harry riding an inflatable unicorn on a £50 note?

“People will tell you Margaret Thatcher should be considered, but why? Because she helped invent whippy ice cream? Do me a favour! You can’t have someone like that on our currency. Harry Maguire riding an inflatable unicorn can be the only sensible choice…”

Time for a change?

The £50 note will get a redesign, despite fears it would be scrapped altogether.

A review by the Treasury in March said it was rarely used for daily transactions and was the “currency of corrupt elites”.

Manufacturer Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt are currently on the £50 tender, but will lose their places when new polymer £20 and £50 notes are introduced from 2020.

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that a living person can’t be on banknotes,” adds Sharples. “It rules out so many worthy candidates like Sir David Attenborough or Danny Dyer.”

When asked if Maguire would be considered for the new £50 note, a Bank of England spokesperson said: “No comment.”

UPDATE:

At the time of writing, the petition started by Jonny Sharples has more than 16,000 signatures while Mrs Thatcher’s, started by Guido Fawkes, has just over 11,000 on change.org.

Meanwhile, the Maguire petition has seemingly inspired a whole range of bizarre and brilliant rival suggestions.

Fellow Three Lions defender Kyle Walker has also weighed in on the campaign, taking to Twitter to voice his support for Maguire.

Walker wrote: “Make it happen England! I’ll be happy on a fiver. Plus a bigger amount needs a bigger head…”

A version of this article originally appeared on our sister site, The Star.