Manchester City announce the club’s new captain following the departure of Ilkay Gündogan and the team vote

Manchester City have announced their new management group for the 2023/24 season after Ilkay Gündogan left the club during the summer transfer window.

The German midfielder, who led Manchester City to a historic treble, left the Etihad Stadium in June to join Barcelona on a free transfer, ending a seven-year stay at the club after joining Borussia Dortmund in 2016.

Gündogan became captain of Manchester City in October last year, replacing Fernandinho after a stint in the City Football Academy’s first team.

The 32-year-old was previously vice-captain of the club and formed a management group consisting of Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Rodri during the 2022/23 season.

De Bruyne, who has played for Manchester City since 2015, will be out until the new year due to injury but has already indicated his desire to return to the pitch.

Kyle Walker captained the Sky Blues at Wembley for the FA Community Shield and in Athens for the UEFA Super Cup final last month, and the Englishman recently signed a new two-year contract extension at the Etihad Stadium.

The 33-year-old signed a new contract until 2026 last week, amid intense transfer speculation this summer and interest from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

As well as devoting his future to Manchester City, the right-back is one of five players appointed captain of the team over the course of the season as part of the new management team.

The right-back confirmed ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League game against Red Star Belgrade that he, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva have been selected as team leaders.

“It’s come in and the five captain’s chosen,” revealed the 33-year-old.

“We’ll lead the team for the foreseeable season and make sure the fines are paid up. The order doesn’t matter, It’s down to me, Kevin [De Bruyne], Rodri, Ruben [Dias] and Bernardo Silva. I’m honoured to lead the players and I’ll lead by example.”

“We don’t do fines, if it’s arriving 10 minutes late for a team meeting, it’s paying for a meal. If there’s anyone to collect it, it’s Ruben [Dias] and Rodri.

“Bernardo’s shown on the pitch how important he is to the team. Off the pitch what you don’t see, he’s a really good relationship with the manager, if we want days off we’ll get him to ask.”