Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba were offered the chance to wear the captain’s armband at Manchester United but the duo turned down the opportunity.
According to a report by The Sun, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba were given the opportunity to lead Manchester United during their reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjær. But, the duo turned down the opportunity for different reasons.
Before Harry Maguire was handed over the captain’s armband at Manchester United. The Red Devils approached Rashford and Pogba for the role. But, the duo didn’t want to lead the Manchester-based club.
The England international believed he wasn’t ready to lead his childhood club while the 30-year-old midfielder was looking to move away from the club and didn’t want to take on the role at that point in time.
Solskjær recently gave an interview where he talked about the time when he was in charge at Old Trafford. The Norwegian manager talked about the players he wanted to sign. The kind of problems he faced and he even mentioned the fact that he approached two players for the captaincy of the club.
Solskjær said: “I won’t name names but I was very disappointed when a couple turned down the chance to be captain.”
While the 50-year-old didn’t reveal any names, the report by The Sun states that Pogba and Rashford were approached for the role.
The Norwegian took charge of Manchester United back in December 2018. Initially, he was appointed as a caretaker manager. But, he managed to impress the people at the club and the role was made permanent in March 2019.
During his time at the club, Antonio Valencia was the skipper but he left the club at the end of the 2018-19 season. Post his departure Ashley Young was handed over the armband but even he ended up leaving in six months time.
Young’s departure meant the 50-year-old needed to look for a new skipper. He wanted either Pogba or Rashford to take up the role. But, since the duo declined the opportunity Harry Maguire was handed over the role.
Erik ten Hag who took charge of the club last summer decided to remove Magure from the leadership role before the start of the 2023-24 season. While he is still a part of their first team setup, Bruno Fernandes now has the armband.
