CRISTIANO RONALDO has been selected as Manchester United captain for today’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa.
The forward, 37, has taken the armband from Bruno Fernandes, who has captained the squad for much of the season so far.
Fernandes received his fifth yellow card of the season during last weekend’s 1-0 win over West Ham, so he is serving a suspension.
Squad captain Harry Maguire has been named on the bench, which is why Ronaldo has been given the armband.
Just a few weeks ago, the Portugal star was AXED from United’s first team for refusing to come off the bench during the club’s 2-0 win over Tottenham.
Instead, he stormed down the tunnel and left Old Trafford before full-time.
Many fans are still furious with Ronaldo, and some have even suggested that he should not be allowed to wear the captain’s armband.
One person tweeted: “Some will disagree but after Ronaldo refusing to play this season there’s no way he should be wearing the captain armband.”
Another added: “ETH surely hasn’t given him the armband has he? That’s insane. He is the last player that should be captaining the team, after his behaviour this season.”
While a third said: “You can’t be captaining Cristiano Ronaldo after what he’s done recently.
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“Refusing to come on as a substitute one week and then being made captain a couple of weeks later.”
However, Ronaldo is now back in Erik ten Hag’s good books.
The United boss praised the five-time Ballon d’Or winner earlier this week for his work rate.
He said: “We defend with 11, starting with Cristiano up front.
“So we are hard to beat as a team. Thatâs a compliment but itâs also that process we have to keep going.
“That makes it hard to beat us because everyone is convinced of that plan, everyone is disciplined in that plan.
“When we play with the desire and passion, we are hard to beat and that makes us, in this moment, successful.”
When asked about why he selected Ronaldo as captain before the game, Ten Hag told Sky Sports: “Nothing changed, when you are captain and leader you have to set an example and that is what I expect from him.
“He is an important part of the squad, we are happy with him and now he has to take even more of the leader role.”
