List of Manchester United F.C. captains explained

Since 1882, 46 players have held the position of club captain for Newton Heath LYR F.C., Newton Heath F.C. or Manchester United F.C.[1]

The first club captain was E. Thomas, who was captain from 1882 to 1883.[1] The longest-serving captain is Bryan Robson, who was club captain from 1982 to 1994, although he held the position jointly with Steve Bruce for the last two years of his tenure.[1] Roy Keane, who was captain from 1997 to 2005, has the distinction of having won the most trophies as captain; he won four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, one Community Shield, one UEFA Champions League and one Intercontinental Cup. Bruno Fernandes is the current Manchester United captain.

Captains

DatesCaptainHonours
1878–1882Unknown
1882–1883 E. Thomas
1883–1887 Sam Black
1887–1891 Jack Powell
1891–1892 Bob McFarlane
1892–1893 Joe Cassidy
1893–1894Unknown
1894–1896 James McNaught
1896–1897 Caesar Jenkyns
1897–1903 Harry Stafford
1903–1904 John Willie Sutcliffe
1904–1905 Jack Peddie
1905–1913 Charlie Roberts
1913–1914 George Stacey
1914–1915 George Hunter
1915–1917 Patrick O'Connell
1917–1918 George Anderson
1918–1919 Jack Mew
1919–1922 Lal Hilditch
1922–1928 Frank Barson
1928–1929 Jack Wilson
1929–1930 Charlie Spencer
1930–1931 Jack Silcock
1931–1932 George McLachlan
1932 Louis Page
1932–1934 Jack Silcock
1934–1935 Bill McKay
1935–1937 James Brown
1937–1939 George Roughton
1939–1940 Bill McKay
1940–1944No competitive football was played during the Second World War
1944–1945 George Roughton
1945–1953 Johnny Carey
1953 Stan Pearson
1953–1955 Allenby Chilton
1955–1958 Roger Byrne
1958–1959 Bill Foulkes
1959–1960 Dennis Viollet
1960–1962 Maurice Setters
1962–1967 Noel Cantwell
1967–1968 Denis Law
1968–1973 Bobby Charlton
1973–1974 George Graham
1974–1975 Willie Morgan
1975–1982 Martin Buchan
1982–1994 Bryan Robson
1994–1996 Steve Bruce
1996–1997 Eric Cantona
1997–2005 Roy Keane
2005–2010 Gary Neville
2010–2014 Nemanja Vidić [2]
2014–2017 Wayne Rooney [3]
2017–2018 Michael Carrick[4]
2018–2019 Antonio Valencia[5]
2019–2020 Ashley Young[6]
2020–2023 Harry Maguire [7] [8]
2023– Bruno Fernandes [9]

Notes and References

  1. June 2009 . Newton Heath and Manchester United Captains . Manchester United Museum Information Sheets . Manchester United.
  2. News: Samuel . Luckhurst . Man United dressing room was 'concerned' by Vidic and Evra - Scholes . . 9 January 2015 .
  3. News: Jamie . Jackson . Wayne Rooney named Manchester United's club captain by Louis van Gaal . . 12 August 2014 .
  4. Web site: Michael Carrick . ManUtd.com . Manchester United . 4 August 2019 .
  5. News: Luke . Brown . Manchester United news: Jose Mourinho to make Antonio Valencia club captain after Michael Carrick's retirement . The Independent . Independent Digital News & Media . 20 July 2018 . 4 August 2019 .
  6. News: Sam . Carney . Ole says Young will be new club captain . ManUtd.com . Manchester United . 3 August 2019 . 4 August 2019 .
  7. News: Sam . Carney . Maguire to be new United captain . ManUtd.com . Manchester United . 17 January 2020 . 17 January 2020 .
  8. 1680597461943959555. HarryMaguire93. 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. Since the day I took on the role, three and half years ago, it’s been a huge privilege to lead Manchester United and one of the proudest moments of my career to date. It’s one of the greatest honours in club football. I’ve done everything I possibly could to help United be successful - on and off the field. I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support. Harry. 16 July 2023.
  9. News: Fernandes named United's new club captain . ManUtd.com . Manchester United . 20 July 2023 . 20 July 2023.