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Man Utd made Harry Maguire captain due to worrying Marcus Rashford reason
Erik ten Hag may have a reason to be concerned
Burnley 0-1 Man Utd: Match Review
Marcus Rashford reportedly rejected the Manchester United captaincy before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed Harry Maguire the armband in 2020. And the reason for Rashford's snub could concern Erik ten Hag, who has stressed his desire for leaders at Old Trafford.
In an interview with The Athletic earlier this month, Solskjaer revealed that a couple of players turned down the chance to become United captain in January 2020.
He said: No. Not really [players didn't throw me under the bus]. Some weren't as good as their own perception of themselves.
"I won't name names, but I was very disappointed when a couple turned down the chance to be captain.
"I was also disappointed when others said they wouldn't play or train because they wanted to force their way out.
"There was stuff in the media after I left about how I treated some players, which were complete lies, but I had a solid, honest relationship with most of them."
Ashley Young started the 2019/20 season as club captain but left for Inter Milan during the winter transfer window.
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The Sun have reported that Rashford was one of the players who said no to succeeding Young before Maguire became the permanent skipper.
A source allegedly revealed: "Rashford was also asked to take the captaincy, but he said he didn't think he was ready for it."
Rashford's reluctance to take on the mantle may come as a concern to Ten Hag, who is desperate to change the culture at Old Trafford by filling the dressing room with strong characters.
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Of course, the United No 10 is now almost four more years into his United career since Solskjaer reportedly asked if he wanted to take the responsibility.
And his response may have been different if Ten Hag had asked the same question after stripping Maguire of the captaincy this summer following a career-best 30-goal season.
But Bruno Fernandes was made United's new captain and was a popular choice among the fanbase.
He has operated as the club's primary talisman since his arrival in the same month as Maguire's appointment and led by example again by scoring the winner as United beat Burnley 1-0 on Saturday.