Louis van Gaal has appointed Wayne Rooney as Manchester United’s captain and Scotsman Darren Fletcher as his vice, ahead of the new Premier League season.
The England international has enjoyed playing the role in the club’s pre-season and led the lads out of the tunnel in last night’s 2-1 win against Valencia in their final warm-up at Old Trafford last night.
A last gap match-winner from Marouane Fellaini handed Van Gaal his first home win as United manager, after Rodrigo Moreno had leveled Darren Fletcher’s opener.
“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,” the 63-year-old said.
“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.”
Wayne Rooney said: “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.”
Fletcher is as well delighted and wants to “continue to work closely with Rooney in their new roles.”
