Enzo Maresca has explained why he refused to give the Manchester City captain's armband to Erling Haaland.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 24: Erling Haaland of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Asto
Erling Haaland will not be the new Man City captain (Image: Getty Images)
Erling Haaland is unlikely to be captaining Manchester City too many times under Enzo Maresca because of an unusual rule employed by his new boss. Haaland was among the first City players to message the Italian head coach and offer his congratulations on succeeding Pep Guardiola. Yet the Norwegian striker won't be getting the armband too often it seems.
Haaland, 26, has developed as a leader over the past 12 months and remains one of only a handful of players still at the club from the treble-winning campaign three years ago. But new manager Maresca has refused to appoint Haaland as his new permanent skipper after Bernardo Silva's departure.
Maresca will be relying on Haaland not merely for his character but also his goals. A greater emphasis on getting the ball wide so players can beat their opponents and deliver crosses into the box should generate even more opportunities for the No.9 to find the net.
And this means Haaland has missed out on the armband, most likely to team-mate Ruben Dias. Maresca likes to use the moments after a goal as a tactical opportunity to talk to his captain, which would prove unworkable with the goal-hungry Haaland.
"At Leicester and Chelsea, I had a rule that when we scored, the captain had to come to the bench for instructions and not celebrate," Maresca revealed in his first interview since taking charge at City.
"But if he scores, then he can celebrate. If Erling is the captain, f****** hell - we have a problem, can you imagine?
"If you saw the game on Wednesday (a 3-1 win against K-League All-Stars), when we scored the first goal, Ruben came over to the bench.
"I think even if it is two or three minutes, there is always something to adjust. At the moment, we have three or four and we are missing one. In the case of Rodri, see what happens."
HONG KONG, CHINA - JULY 31: Head coach Enzo Maresca of Manchester City reacts during the Manchester City Training Session at Kai
Enzo Maresca is going into his first season as Manchester City head coach (Image: Getty Images)
While Guardiola left the captaincy to a player vote for his first nine seasons, he changed that approach in his final campaign, appointing Bernardo Silva as captain.
Maresca will select the next captain following Silva's exit, and also wishes to include an English player in the leadership group. Phil Foden or Marc Guehi could profit from that decision.
Defender Josko Gvardiol is another ready to step up and be a leader for City. He said to the MEN: "I am still 24 and with a new manager everyone has to fight for their position, no-one is secure.
"I think there are going to be a lot of changes and I am looking forward to seeing what will happen at the beginning of the season, how we are going to play.
"Every day is a new challenge and new opportunity. It's difficult to tell, but this is something inside of you, you know, when someone new comes, you just want to show the best you can do."