Ten Hag names first Man Utd captain since stripping Harry Maguire of armband and decision is huge hit with fans

MANCHESTER UNITED have named Raphael Varane as club captain ahead of today’s match against Lyon.

Former skipper Harry Maguire was stripped of his captaincy on Saturday following talks with first team manager Erik ten Hag.

Getty

Varane has been named as Man Utd’s new captain[/caption]

AP

Maguire was stripped of his captaincy last week[/caption]

In a statement on Twitter, the England international said: “After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain.

“He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt.

“So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband.”

Varane has been named as Maguire’s successor for today’s pre-season friendly against Lyon, although it is not currently known if he will keep the armband on a full-time basis.

Man Utd fans have been left thrilled since hearing about Varane’s captaincy.

One person tweeted: “Varane as captain. Corrrrr just inject it.”

Another added: “Here we go Captain Varane baby. Come on United!”

A third wrote: “RAPHAEL ‘PROPER CAPTAIN’ VARANE!!!”

FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS

While a fourth commented: “Varane’s captain? News to me. Glad to hear of it.”

Man Utd’s clash with Lyon will be their second outing of pre-season.

The Red Devils earned a 2-0 win over Leeds last week thanks to goals from from Joe Hugill and Noam Emeran.