Wayne Rooney confirms that he wants to be Manchester United captain but says he has no problem if Robin van Persie is given the armband

The Dutchman Van Persie is the current favourite for the role

Wayne Rooney says that he wants the Manchester United captaincy on a full-time basis (Getty Images)

Wayne Rooney says that he wants the Manchester United captaincy on a full-time basis now that manager Louis van Gaal has to appoint a new man for the job following the departure of Nemanja Vidic in the summer.

Robin van Persie has emerged as the favourite given his closeness to Van Gaal, who has made him the captain of the Netherlands. Asked whether he wanted it, Rooney said: “Of course. I’ve said before that I’ve captained United a few times and to get it on a full-time basis would be great. But obviously with the new manager coming in, it’s his decision. Whoever he chooses to be captain, I’ll respect that and have no problems with it.

Asked whether he was ready for the job, Rooney said: “Yes I do. As I said, it’s the manager’s decision. If he chooses someone else, then honestly I’ve got no problems with that. I’ll respect the decision. Robin is captain of his country, he has captained Arsenal and if Robin gets the nod to be captain, then I’m sure he’ll do a great job.”

Speaking at the England training camp in Vale Do Lobo in Portugal, Rooney said that it had been his worst season in ten years at United. “[From a personal point of view] I think it was OK. It could have been better. I still scored a few goals and got quite a few assists, but we finished seventh, so it’s disappointing. Over the season as a whole, we were too inconsistent, stop-start, and that has obviously shown with the change of manager. It was probably the worst season I’ve had at United, finishing seventh.”