21 July 2023 , 17:15
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Bruno Fernandes says it is a "great honour" to have been appointed Manchester United's new captain.
United boss Erik ten Hag has handed Fernandes the armband after deciding to end Harry Maguire's spell as skipper. Former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed Fernandes the captaincy in Maguire’s absence in 2021 for a Champions League game, when Maguire was unavailable.
Fernandes captained United 45 times last season, with Maguire having lost his place, but said being handed the armband on a permanent basis was a huge source of pride. "Obviously, it's a great honour," said Fernandes.
"The first time was in the Champions League against PSG. I was a little bit surprised by Ole, but obviously, I said to him at the time it's just such an honour for me. I still have the armband and the shirt from that game, because I wanted to keep it for me, because this is something that is not for everyone.
"And it's something that has to make you proud, has to make you understand that you are in a place where everyone would like to be: playing for Manchester United. Having the chance to have the armband and having that responsibility is such a big honour."
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Looking ahead to tomorrow’s clash against Arsenal, Fernandes said: "Yeah, it will be [special], because officially it will be the first time that I'm a club captain for the club. And obviously, I want to keep that one because I want to frame it both together to understand how long the [time between them] was.
"But it was really good to achieve this now because it means a lot for everything that you have done through your career to understand that you made a big thing to be a club captain of one of the biggest clubs in the world."
Erik ten Hag believes Fernandes will do an excellent job as Maguire's replacement (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)Mirror Football is now on Threads!
And Ten Hag says Fernandes is the perfect choice to replace Maguire, telling club media: "A good team is always covering areas as leaders, team players, multi-functional players, specialists, individualists. But you need some leaders in the team, on the pitch, who are guiding the team, who are building the team, who are controlling the quality of the performance.
"And one has to wear the [arm]band and I chose Bruno because he's a great inspiration. He is the example; [he] always wants to be a better football player, working very hard to give his maximum performance, so he is the mirror for many players.
"He is a good social connector [and] also has very good in-game understanding, so for a manager, it's very good to have that integrated on the pitch. So they are some reasons [why he was given the captaincy] but he can't do it alone. We need more leaders to have the strong bond who can send the team in the right direction."