Rio Ferdinand Believes This Player Should Replace Harry Maguire As Manchester United Captain

Rio Ferdinand believes Bruno Fernandes must replace Harry Maguire as Manchester United's captain.

Fernandes wore the captain's armband during Manchester United's home game against Liverpool in the Premier League on Monday when Maguire was not included in the starting XI.

Erik ten Hag instead chose Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez for his central defense as Manchester United registered their maiden win of the 2022-23 Premier League. Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho found the back of the net in Manchester United's 2-1 win over Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.

"I think I'd stick with who we've got at the moment, he looks like he [Fernandes] feeds off that responsibility. Bruno has an ego and wants to be the main man. When Cristiano comes in there is no discussion about who the main man is. There's no disguising he's the main man, regardless of who you are, what you've done," Ferdinand said on his YouTube Channel.

The Red Devils legend went on to say that Fernandes has always been in the shadows of Cristiano Ronaldo despite being on the same level as the five-time Ballon d'Or.

"I think when Bruno came here he was the main man, a cult figure because of his performances and goals and that was kind of put in the shadows when Cristiano Ronaldo came. He's come off the levels as much as anyone because he was hitting such high levels. Listen, the levels he was hitting he couldn't continue that because it was ridiculous what he was doing, the output," added Ferdinand.

The 43-year-old soccer star-turned-pundit also said Fernandes would "benefit the most from getting the armband." Meanwhile, Ten Hag has other captaincy options too in the form of David de Gea and Varane.

Ronaldo's future at Manchester United is still not clear, especially since he did not start in their big game against Liverpool at Old Trafford. Reacting to the speculation around Ronaldo's future, Fernandes said he would support his compatriot in whatever decision he would take.

Manchester United are next scheduled to take on Southampton in an away-league game on Saturday. The Red Devils have one win from three games in the Premier League this term.