‘You’ll keep the f***ing armband son’: Gary Neville reveals why Sir Alex never made Cristiano Man United captain

Man United legend Gary Neville has spoken about why Sir Alex Ferguson never handed Cristiano Ronaldo the captain’s armband even though the Portuguese was clearly a favourite of his at the club.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I got injured a year after taking the captaincy and that became really difficult for me. It felt as though I wasn't contributing like a captain should be for my last four years. I actually went to see Sir Alex in pre-season about the third year I was captain.

“We had an amazing team: Ronaldo, Rooney, [Carlos] Tevez, Giggs, [Paul] Scholes, [Michael] Carrick, [Rio] Ferdinand, [Nemanja] Vidic, [Patrice] Evra, [Edwin] van der Sar... there were some great personalities and players in that group.

“I went over to Sir Alex walking onto the training pitch and said, 'I don't feel worthy of keeping the captaincy anymore. This team is to a level I can't compete at.'

“He said, 'You'll keep that f***ing armband, son,' The reason he gave me: 'You and Giggs will rotate it. If I give it to Ronaldo, Rooney will kick off. If I give it to Rooney, Ronaldo will kick off. If I give it to Vidic, Ferdinand won't be happy.’

“So literally I think me and Giggsy kept it for three or four years beyond that just purely because of the fact the camaraderie in the dressing room. We were the policemen if you like, the older statesmen. Sir Alex wanted to make sure the team came first. Even though I felt unworthy as a captain at that stage.”

Ronaldo spent six years at Old Trafford between 2003 and 2009. And although he didn't wear an armband he is still seen as a club legend.

Cristiano arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu on July 6, 2009, to kick-off a new era in the history of the club. He ended up staying at Madrid for nine seasons during which he recorded 450 goals and 131 assists in 438 games.

Source: Tribuna