Wayne Rooney named new Manchester United captain

Darren Fletcher and Wayne Rooney with the International Champions Cup trophy

Manager Louis van Gaal has announced that Wayne Rooney will be the new captain of Manchester United football club, with Darren Fletcher as vice-captain

Van Gaal said: "For me it's always very important the choice of captain. Wayne has shown a great attitude towards everything he does. I have been very impressed by his professionalism and his attitude to training and to my philosophy. He is a great inspiration to the younger members of the team and I believe he will put his heart and soul into his captaincy role.

"Darren Fletcher will become the vice-captain. Darren is a natural leader and will captain the team when Wayne isn't playing. Darren is a very experienced player and a very popular member of the dressing room, I know he will work well alongside Wayne."

The decision was announced after last night’s 2-1 injury-time win over Valencia in a friendly at Old Trafford.

BREAKING: We can announce @WayneRooney is #mufc's new captain. Darren Fletcher vice-captain. http://t.co/hTVFL8ETJw pic.twitter.com/yyp65grlaJ

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 12, 2014

The 28-year-old striker was excited about the new responsibility.

"It is a huge honour for me – and for my family – to be named captain of this great club. It is a role I will perform with great pride. Team spirit has always been very high in our dressing room and I am very grateful to the manager for the faith he has shown in me. I look forward to leading the team out on Saturday at our first match of the new season." he said.

Fletcher, who scored his first goal for the club since recovering from the ulcerative colitis disease last night was happy about his new role.

"I am delighted to have been named as vice-captain. It's a very proud moment for me and my family. Wayne and I have always worked well together and we will continue to work closely together in our new roles. I would like to thank the manager for putting his trust in me." the Scot said.

The Manchester United captaincy was understood to be a four-horse race between Rooney, Fletcher, Jonny Evans and Robin van Persie.As it may be recalled, Van Persie was the Netherlands’ captain at the World Cup under van Gaal was supposedly the favourite to get the same responsibility at his club.

The Dutch striker’s injury record leading to him missing a number of games could have gone against him.