Raphael Varane has admitted it was 'an honour' to captain Manchester United against Leeds in a friendly on Wednesday afternoon.
United kicked off their pre-season with a clash against historic rivals Leeds in Oslo, Norway and Erik ten Hag named a strong starting team, with first-choice defenders Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Lisandro Martinez and Varane all starting at the back.
Varane captained the side from the start and he wore a shirt with the name 'McQueen' etched on the back ahead of kick-off, as a tribute to the great Gordon McQueen, who sadly passed away last month at the age of 70.
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McQueen represented both United and Leeds in his career and a minute's applause in tribute was held ahead of the friendly.
United eventually won the fixture 2-0 thanks to goals from Noam Emeran and Joe Hugill and Varane, speaking after the game, discussed what wearing the armband meant to him. "It was an honour for me to be a captain for the game," he said.
"I know he [Gordon McQueen] was a legend of both clubs, so to represent the club as captain for that occasion, for me, it's an honour. There was a big respect from the fans too, so honestly, it was an honour.
"I think there are no friendly games, so we always want to win and the youngest players got the job done, so congratulations to them. We'll keep working hard to get ready for the start of the new season."
Harry Maguire remains the club captain despite having slipped down the centre-back pecking order and uncertainty surrounding his future. Maguire made just eight league starts last season and Bruno Fernandes was the de facto captain.
It's possible an official change of captaincy could be made before the start of the new season.
