Ralf Rangnick was asked about rumours surrounding the Manchester United captaincy situation at his press conference ahead of Sunday’s clash with Leeds.
The Mirror reported that Rangnick was set to appoint Cristiano Ronaldo as the new skipper but the German confirmed that Harry Maguire will remain in the role until the end of the season.
Maguire already took to Twitter to deny the rumours that he and Ronaldo are in a power struggle and Rangnick also described them as ‘nonsense’ when asked.
He also said that the atmosphere inside the changing room is better than it was weeks ago because players who were not getting enough gametime have left the club.
“To start with, I must say that this is absolutely nonsense,” said Rangnick of the report. “I’ve never spoken with any player about a possible change of captaincy.
“Harry is fully aware of that and so is Cristiano. So are all the other players. This has never been an issue for me and it is me who decides who the captain is.
“Therefore, there is no reason for me to speak about that with any other person. Harry is our captain and will be our captain until the end of the season. There is nothing else to add to that. I’m not frustrated because I know the truth.”
On the dressing room, he said: “There were players unhappy until the closure of the window because as I always said, the squad was too big. We had too many players and those who realised they wouldn’t get gametime. This has improved and I can tell you that the atmosphere in the locker room is better than two weeks ago because of that.”
Rumours will always swirl around a club like United, especially when performances have not been as good as expected like they have in recent weeks.
But on the back of a win, they are particularly galling and that is perhaps why Rangnick and some of his players have felt emboldened to call them out.
No doubt Maguire will appreciate the faith shown in him by his manager to lead United into the business end of the season.
Now, the England international needs to improve his performances or Rangnick will have a decision to make over whether to drop his captain.
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