Manchester City confirm new club captain for the season after player votes not who we expected

Kyle Walker will continue to wear the Manchester City armband after the players voted on their new leaders.

Walker nearly departed in the summer to join Bayern Munich, but was persuaded to stay and signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him at the Etihad until 2026. Except for the first Premier League game at Burnley, where Kevin De Bruyne started as captain but was pulled off due to injury, the England international has been captain for every game this season.

Pep Guardiola, as usual, made sure the squad waited until the end of the transfer window before all of the players voted on the five captains. Along with Walker and De Bruyne, Rodri and Ruben Dias have been re-selected.

Bernardo Silva, another player who could have departed in the summer but instead signed a new contract committing to the club until 2026, has joined the group. The 29-year-old, like Walker, has been with the club for six years and has now been named one of the five captains.

Guardiola spoke at the weekend about how important Silva is to the group, saying how hard it would be to replace his place in the squad. Walker added to that and suggested that his relationship with the manager could be vital to getting extra days off.

“Bernardo has shown on the pitch how important he is to the team,” said Walker. “Off the pitch there is a lot that you don’t see. He has a really good relationship with the manager, so if we want days off we’ll get him to ask.”