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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Samuel Luckhurst

Manchester United confirm stance on captaincy

Harry Maguire will remain the Manchester United captain at least until the end of the season.

Maguire's poor form this season has led to questions over whether he should continue to lead United, particularly given the return of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo captains Portugal and first donned the armband for United at the age of 23 in 2008 while Maguire was promoted to the role just five months into his Old Trafford career in January 2020 when Ashley Young left for Inter Milan.

Ralf Rangnick clarified five weeks ago he would not reassign the captaincy but Maguire's position was questioned again in midweek before reports of a discussion between Maguire, Ronaldo and Rangnick.

"Well, to start with, I must say this is absolutely nonsense," Rangnick said. "I have never spoken with any player about a possible change of captaincy, Harry was fully aware of that, so was Cristiano and the other players. This has never been an issue for me.

"It's me who decides who's the captain and therefore there is no reason for me to speak about that with another person. Harry is our captain and he will stay our captain until the end of the season and there is nothing else to add on to that."

Maguire was the fastest player to be appointed United captain following their arrival since Maurice Setters in 1962 and remains the most expensive defender in world football, having arrived from Leicester for £80million.

Bruno Fernandes is effectively the vice-captain at United as he wears the armband whenever Maguire is absent.

When Maguire was unavailable for the defeat to Wolves last month and Fernandes was benched, Ronaldo led United out at Old Trafford.

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