Cristiano Ronaldo named captain for Manchester United's game at Aston Villa

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Cristiano Ronaldo captains Manchester United this afternoon at Villa Park – just weeks after refusing to come on against Tottenham

Cristiano Ronaldo in action for Manchester United against Rayo Vallecano in pre-season.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as captain by Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag for Sunday's Premier League clash at Aston Villa.

The Portuguese forward started the season on the bench after missing most of pre-season and was keen to leave the club in the summer.

Ronaldo recently refused to come off the bench for United against Tottenham at Old Trafford and left the stadium early.

He was left out of United's next match by Ten Hag and had to train away from the first team for several days.

However, he has been given the armband for Sunday's game at Villa Park in the absence of Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes.

Maguire starts on the bench for United this afternoon, while Fernandes misses out through suspension.

The Portuguese midfielder has been replaced in the XI by Marcus Rashford.

Ben Hayward
Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.