"Mannschaftskapitan" - Ralf Rangnick reveals how Manchester United could appoint new captain under Erik ten Hag

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has revealed the approach the club could take in approaching a new club-captain.

Harry Maguire was made Manchester United skipper by former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020. He has had a mixed time as the leader of the Red Devils squad and has suffered the ire of fans this season.

There has been a feeling that the English centre-back doesn't possess the leadership qualities to be captain of the thirteen-time Premier League winners.

Rangnick was asked whether Manchester United could make a change to the captaincy under new manager Erik ten Hag.

The current United interim boss revealed the way in which he would appoint a club-captain and named the process as 'Mannschaftskapitan'.

Rangnick said (via UtdReport):

"I can only tell you what I have done in the past — in Germany it's called 'Mannschaftskapitan' - the captain of the team. I strongly believe the captain should be elected by the team because he's called the team manager and we always did that."

The German coach continued,

"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."

Despite having appointed a club-captain in the past in such a way, Rangnick is aware that many other managers take different approaches.

He knows that it'll be left up to Ten Hag to decide how he interprets the club-captaincy at Manchester United:

"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 [ten Hag] will have to decide."

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Who would be in the running to become Manchester United captain?

Ronaldo (centre) will be a popular choice to be Manchester United's captain

With Erik ten Hag expected to hold individual meetings with the squad over the next three weeks (per Mirror), he may make a decision over the captaincy soon.

These five may be players Ten Hag looks at as possible candidates:

Harry Maguire - Despite shouts from many for him to give up the armband, the 29-year-old is still a presence at the back and Ten Hag may deem him fit for the role.

Cristiano Ronaldo - This would likely be the fans' choice. The veteran forward has won trophies across the globe and is seen as the most worthy leader.

David de Gea - The longest serving United player, De Gea has been at Old Trafford for eleven years.

Bruno Fernandes - The Portuguese star has been the captain of his former side Sporting Lisbon and has shown his leadership on numerous occasions.

Scottt McTominay - An academy product, the Scot is a United boyhood fan who loves the club dearly.

It will be interesting to see who dons the armband for Manchester United next season.