Manchester City need to select a new captain this summer when Kevin De Bruyne leaves
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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 20: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City hands over the captains armband to Ruben Dias of Manchester City after being substituted off for the last time at The Etihad Stadium during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and AFC Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium on May 20, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Ben Roberts - Danehouse/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 20: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City hands over the captains armband to Ruben Dias of Manchester City after being substituted off for the last time at The Etihad Stadium during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and AFC Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium on May 20, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Ben Roberts - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Pep Guardiola may change his long-standing approach to electing a new Manchester City captain when Kevin De Bruyne leaves this summer.
De Bruyne took the armband from Kyle Walker when the right-back asked to leave for AC Milan in January. Walker remains contracted to City until 2026 and Milan are not not guaranteed to make his loan permanent, but Guardiola has been short and blunt whenever asked about his former captain and does not consider him a City player anymore.
Walker believes the door is not fully closed on his City career however it was notable how Guardiola's mood changed quickly when asked if the England right-back would travel with the Blues for the FIFA Club World Cup. "No, no," was the emphatic response.
With De Bruyne leaving and Guardiola seemingly holding the door shut for Walker to return, a new captain will need to be elected next season or even before that for the Club World Cup. Ruben Dias, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan currently complete the leadership group that is elected by players, while Guardiola personally intervened recently by handing Erling Haaland the armband after his nine-year contract was announced.
Now the manager says he will reflect on how the next captain is chosen, saying: "I have to reflect. I have to think about it. I don't change it [now], I think what I'm going to do in the future. But I didn't take the decision. We will do it, I have time, it's not important at all, we have really good characters right now."
Guardiola did, however, confirm that he will never intervene with enforcing a penalty-taker after Haaland handed the responsibility to Omar Marmoush in the FA Cup final only for the Egyptian to miss from 12 yards.
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"Penalties are on the pitch. Everybody knows who is the main taker, before it was Sergio and other ones. After there are feelings on the pitch," he said. "I respect the decision because I don't play. I said a thousand million times, I never as manager won a game. I never took a penalty or saved a penalty, it belongs to them. The way they decide to take it is fine or how they take the free kick is fine.
"We can suggest, we can make patterns but they play. I'm not going to win or lose against Fulham [on Sunday]. I'm there to support and to give 'we're going to do that'. But they play, all the success we had belongs to them.
"It's not that I don't take responsibility, all the managers sitting here, they know when they're losing that they will be under scrutiny. But I never won a title, never kicked a ball. It's simple, belongs to them and I want to encourage them to take responsibility. It's better, you have more satisfaction. I don't take away my responsibility on that, but football, penalties, actions belongs to them."
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