Ralf Rangnick has moved to dispel any suggestion Cristiano Ronaldo could replace Harry Maguire as Manchester United captain.
It has been a difficult season for the United skipper since his return from England’s run to the Euro 2020 final with Maguire frequently criticised for the level of his performances.
That, coupled with seemingly constant reports about a sense of discontent behind the scenes at Old Trafford, has seen media reports suggest Ronaldo could take the armband away from the £80m defender.
All of this comes after Sky Sports pundit and United legend Gary Neville revealed there had been leaks within the dressing room.
Newspaper reports claimed Maguire had been undermined by Ronaldo since his return to the club from Juventus over the course of the January window although the 28-year-old took to social media himself to play down such suggestions.
Speaking ahead of the trip to bitter rivals Leeds United, however, Rangnick dismissed the rumours as “nonsense”.
“Well, to start with, I must say that this is absolutely nonsense,” he said.
“I have never spoken with any player about a possible change of captaincy and Harry is fully aware of that and so is Cristiano, and all the other players.
“So this has never been an issue for me, it is me who decides the captain and therefore there is no reason to speak about that with any other person.
“Harry is our captain and will stay our captain until the end of the season and there is nothing else to add on to that.”
