Wayne Rooney 'honoured' to be named Manchester United captain by Louis van Gaal

Said it was an 'unbelievably proud moment'

Wayne Rooney has spoken of the great honour of being named Manchester United captain (Getty Images)

Wayne Rooney has spoken of the ‘huge honour’ he feels at being named Manchester United captain by Louis van Gaal.

The 28-year-old was handed the armband by the Dutchman for the 2-1 win against Valencia and was named the captain for next season; Darren Fletcher was named vice-captain.

Robin van Persie was believed to be the frontrunner for the role but Van Gaal has been hugely impressed by the England star during his brief spell in charge of the club.

Rooney posted this message to his Instagram account: “Walking out last night as captain of Manchester United was an unbelievably proud moment for me and my family.

“It’s a huge honour for me to captain this great club and I will take great pride in doing so. I would like to thank all the fans for their support, I am looking forward to the exciting times ahead and leading their club to more success.”

Speaking after the game at Old Trafford in which Fletcher and Marouane Fellaini scored the goals, Van Gaal admitted he had been impressed.

Louis van Gaal admitted he had been impressed by Rooney (Getty Images)

“For me it's always very important the choice of captain,” he said. “Wayne has shown a great attitude towards everything he does. I have been very impressed by his professionalism and his attitude to training and to my philosophy.

“He is a great inspiration to the younger members of the team and I believe he will put his heart and soul into his captaincy role.

“Darren is a natural leader and will captain the team when Wayne isn't playing. Darren is a very experienced player and a very popular member of the dressing room, I know he will work well alongside Wayne.”