London, Feb 19: Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has denied reports that Cristiano Ronaldo will replace Harry Maguire as captain. He rubbished the speculations, saying there is "no reason for me to talk about this".

Speaking ahead of United's visit to Leeds on Sunday, Rangnick said, "To start with, I must say this is absolute nonsense. I have never spoken with any player about a possible change of captaincy. Harry is fully aware of that and so is Cristiano and all the other players. This has never been an issue for me." Cristiano Ronaldo Praised by Ralf Rangnik After his Screamer During Manchester United vs Brighton in EPL 2021-22, Says ‘The Best Performance by Him in the Last Weeks’.

"It's me who decides who is captain and therefore there is no reason for me to talk about this with any other person. Harry is our captain and he will stay our captain until the end of the season and there is nothing else to add on to that," Rangnick was quoted as saying by dailymail.co.uk.

It had been claimed that the two senior players are locked in a power struggle regarding who should skipper the side between now and the end of the season. The Mirror reported that the duo had been in conversation with interim boss Rangnick about the situation, with England defender Maguire reluctant to hand over the armband to the Portuguese star for fear of losing it permanently.

Maguire also moved to deny the reports on his social media accounts on Friday and Rangnick also rubbished the rumours in his press conference. Addressing The Mirror's report, Maguire wrote on Twitter: "I've seen a lot of reports about this club that aren't true and this is another. Not going to start posting about everything that is written but I needed to make this one clear. We're united and focused on Sunday. Enjoy your day everyone."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 19, 2022 09:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).