Rooney wants United armband

Manchester United star Wayne Rooney would welcome becoming the club’s captain for next season and England skipper in the future.

The England international, 28, has been strongly tipped to replace Serbian defender and current captain Nemanja Vidic, who has agreed to an off-season move to Serie A outfit Inter.

It remains unclear how long national team captain Steven Gerrard, 33, will play on at international level and whether the Liverpool midfielder will continue beyond the FIFA World Cup.

Rooney feels he is a leader at United even without the armband, but said he wanted the captaincy if manager David Moyes believed he was the best man for the job.

“I’ve done it a few times and, if the manager wants me to be the captain, I would have no problem with that,” Rooney told club magazine Inside United.

“I would take it with both hands. However, it is down to the manager, because it’s his decision on whoever he feels is the right person to lead the team. I’m sure he’ll make that decision when the time comes.

“Whether you’ve got the armband or not, I always feel I’m quite vocal on the pitch. I try to help the players when I feel I can and say what I think. I believe that’s the most important thing, to be honest and say what you feel. If you say what you believe are the right things, you need to keep doing that.”

Speaking about England, who he has captained previously, Rooney said there were several players capable of taking on the captaincy.

“You don’t know what Steven is going to do in the summer, only he knows,” Rooney said.

“It’d be a great honour to captain my country but, again, it’s the manager’s call and I’m sure he’ll have a few contenders.”