Man United could replace Harry Maguire as captain; rumors have it that new manager Erik ten Hag would decide on it.
The Red Devils are evaluating the situation ahead of their first season under ten Hag, and it’s possible that Cristiano Ronaldo will take Harry Maguire’s place.
Since Ashley Young left United, England center defender Harry Maguire has held the captain’s armband, although the £80 million player received criticism for several of his performances last year.
The armband may be one of the topics up for discussion when Ten Hag returns from Ajax and has a chance to shake things up.
Although Maguire has been given permission to travel on his honeymoon before joining the rest of the team, United’s non-international players will return for preseason training on Monday.
And when the new manager meets with the top scorer from the previous campaign, Ronaldo may wind up being named captain, according to The Daily Star.
Despite the club’s dismal sixth-place finish in the previous campaign, Ronaldo is likely to extend his contract with United by another year.
The former Juventus player at least finished first in the scoring rankings for the team and third in the overall Premier League standings, despite the 13-point distance to the top four frustrating those at Old Trafford.
Due to the team’s poor performance, Ten Hag was named before the season was ended, and former interim manager Ralf Rangnick left during the offseason to become the head coach of Austria’s national team.
Ronaldo will hear from the incoming manager in an effort to clarify his intentions, reassure him of United’s transfer ambitions, and according to The Star perhaps even extend the armband to him.
Even if Maguire continues to serve as Man United captain under Ten Hag, the topic of the captaincy is still up for discussion.
In fact, assistant coach Steve McClaren kept his cards quite close to his chest while talking about the topic on the McClaren Performance podcast.
“Going into Man United, who are the cultural architects immediately comes to mind?” asked McClaren. On whom can you center this team?
Who should lead Manchester United this season?
There are a few lieutenants and they are all connectors and connected to one another; there is no one leader or captain. Some people improve one another via rank, some through skill, and yet others through attitude.
But everyone has a responsibility to improve others if they are cultural architects.
The remarks might be taken as an allusion to other Premier League clubs’ usage of leadership teams rather than individual captains.
After the former leader Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang departed to Barcelona, Arsenal, for instance, took its time appointing a permanent captain.
Bruno Fernandes took up the role of captain in April when Harry Maguire was benched during United’s defeat to the Arsenal in the Premier League.
Manager Ten Hag, though, will undoubtedly have his own ideas as he gets ready for a fresh season.