Thousands of people have backed a campaign to adorn the UK’s new £50 banknotes with an image of England defender Harry Maguire riding an inflatable unicorn at this summer’s World Cup in Russia.
The Bank of England is updating the notes, with the current image featuring industrial revolution pioneers Matthew Boulton and James Watt set to be replaced.
Suggestions for the new banknote occupant have ranged from the venerable – such as the famous 19th-century black nurse Mary Seacole – to the downright bizarre, including England and Leicester City defender Maguire riding the blow-up mythical creature.
The picture of the 25-year-old was taken as England players relaxed at their World Cup base at Repino, near St. Petersburg, during the team’s magical run to the semi-finals this summer.
A change.org petition created by Jonny Sharples to immortalize the snap on the new banknotes currently stands at around 22,000 signatures.
The iconic pool pic came to represent the buoyant atmosphere in the England camp this summer, as well as the joyous scenes back home as the Three Lions reached the semi-final stage for the first time in almost three decades.
Maguire himself played a leading role in the team's World Cup run, scoring the first goal in England's 2-0 win against Sweden in the quarter-final.
Maguire’s England teammate Kyle Walker has implored people to “make it happen,” adding that he would be happy to feature on £5 notes with an image of himself “Kyling” – the name given to the pose he famously adopted when he cramped up while teammates rushed off to celebrate the World Cup penalty shootout win over Colombia.
The new £50 notes – which are the highest denomination in the UK – will be made of durable polymer, the same as the new £5 and £10 versions.
They are expected to be printed in 2020, around the time the new £20 note featuring revered artist JMW Turner is rolled out.