Ralf Rangnick offered no assurances that Harry Maguire will retain the Manchester United captaincy next season and suggested that a player vote could determine the squad’s next leader.
Erik ten Hag is set to make sweeping changes when he succeeds Rangnick in the summer, with a drastic overhaul of the squad planned.
Maguire’s form has been a near-constant cause of concern during a torrid campaign, while a knee injury has also hampered the England international.
Asked whether Maguire should keep the captaincy, Rangnick said: “I understand your question but again it doesn’t make sense because we don’t know what kind of players will be here, what the group will look like.
“I can only tell you what I have done in the past when I was head coach or manager because in Germany it’s called Mannschaftskapitan – the captain of the team.
“I strongly believe the captain should be elected by the team.
“We always had a board of four or five players – we called it the Spielerrat [players’ council] – elected by the players. The player with the highest amount of votes was the team captain at the end. That was how I did it.
“I know a lot of head coaches don’t do it that way. That’s what I would do if I was still the manager next season, but in the end I’m not. This is something that Erik will have to decide.”
Rangnick was also asked about reports that he has compiled a detailed dossier on United’s players for Ten Hag, including criticisms of the levels of professionalism within the squad.
“This is completely false, completely untrue,” he said. “The board has never asked me to prepare a dossier, neither for the board nor for Erik.
“I also never said anything to nobody criticising the attitude of the players as being unprofessional or selfish. This is not true, I will always protect my players. I have never realised any issues of them being unprofessional or selfish.”
