# List of Manchester United F.C. captains

Since 1882, 46 players have held the position of club captain for Newton Heath LYR F.C., Newton Heath F.C. or Manchester United F.C.
The first club captain was E. Thomas, who was captain from 1882 to 1883. The longest-serving captain is Bryan Robson, who was club captain from 1982 to 1994, although he held the position jointly with Steve Bruce for the last two years of his tenure. Roy Keane, who was captain from 1997 to 2005, has the distinction of having won the most trophies as captain; he won four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, one Community Shield, one UEFA Champions League and one Intercontinental Cup. Bruno Fernandes is the current Manchester United captain.

## Captains

* Caesar Jenkyns served as captain during the 1896–97 season.
* Charlie Roberts was captain when Manchester United won their first league title in 1907.
* Denis Law captained Manchester United to their first European honour. He made 494 appearances for the club and scored 237 goals.
* Bobby Charlton is United's second-highest goalscorer and has the second-most appearances for the club. He captained the club from 1968 to 1973.
* Bryan Robson made 461 appearances for Manchester United and is the longest serving captain in the club's history, serving for twelve years.
* Steve Bruce served as captain from 1994 to 1996.
* Eric Cantona made 185 appearances and scored 87 goals for Manchester United. He was the club's first non British/Irish captain.
* Roy Keane made 480 appearances with Manchester United and is the most decorated captain in club history, serving from 1997 to 2005.
* Gary Neville made 602 appearances for Manchester United and served as captain from 2005 to 2011.
* Nemanja Vidić made 300 appearances for Manchester United and served as captain from 2011 to 2014.
* Wayne Rooney is the club's all-time top scorer with 253 goals. He captained the club from 2014 to 2017.
* Michael Carrick served as captain for his final season as a professional player.
* Antonio Valencia captained the Manchester United in his final season of his ten years with the club. He was United's first captain from outside of Europe.
* Ashley Young (right) served as captain for the first half of the 2019–20 season, before departing for Inter Milan.
* Harry Maguire became captain in the middle of his first season with the club, after Ashley Young's departuer, and served until 2023.
| Dates | Captain | Honours |
| 1878–1882 | Unknown | |
| 1882–1883 | E. Thomas | |
| 1883–1887 | Sam Black | |
| 1887–1891 | Jack Powell | |
| 1891–1892 | Bob McFarlane | |
| 1892–1893 | Joe Cassidy | |
| 1893–1894 | Unknown | |
| 1894–1896 | James McNaught | |
| 1896–1897 | Caesar Jenkyns | |
| 1897–1903 | Harry Stafford | |
| 1903–1904 | John Willie Sutcliffe | |
| 1904–1905 | Jack Peddie | |
| 1905–1913 | Charlie Roberts | 1906–07 First Division 1908 Charity Shield 1908–09 FA Cup 1910–11 First Division 1911 Charity Shield |
| 1913–1914 | George Stacey | |
| 1914–1915 | George Hunter | |
| 1915–1917 | Patrick O'Connell | |
| 1917–1918 | George Anderson | |
| 1918–1919 | Jack Mew | |
| 1919–1922 | Lal Hilditch | |
| 1922–1928 | Frank Barson | |
| 1928–1929 | Jack Wilson | |
| 1929–1930 | Charlie Spencer | |
| 1930–1931 | Jack Silcock | |
| 1931–1932 | George McLachlan | |
| 1932 | Louis Page | |
| 1932–1934 | Jack Silcock | |
| 1934–1935 | Bill McKay | |
| 1935–1937 | James Brown | 1935–36 Second Division |
| 1937–1939 | George Roughton | |
| 1939–1940 | Bill McKay | |
| 1940–1944 | No competitive football was played during the Second World War | No competitive football was played during the Second World War |
| 1944–1945 | George Roughton | |
| 1945–1953 | Johnny Carey | 1947–48 FA Cup 1951–52 First Division 1952 Charity Shield |
| 1953 | Stan Pearson | |
| 1953–1955 | Allenby Chilton | |
| 1955–1958 | Roger Byrne | 1955–56 First Division 1956 Charity Shield 1956–57 First Division 1957 Charity Shield |
| 1958–1959 | Bill Foulkes | |
| 1959–1960 | Dennis Viollet | |
| 1960–1962 | Maurice Setters | |
| 1962–1967 | Noel Cantwell | 1962–63 FA Cup 1964–65 First Division 1965 Charity Shield 1966–67 First Division |
| 1967–1968 | Denis Law | 1967 Charity Shield 1967–68 European Cup |
| 1968–1973 | Bobby Charlton | |
| 1973–1974 | George Graham | |
| 1974–1975 | Willie Morgan | 1974–75 Second Division |
| 1975–1982 | Martin Buchan | 1976–77 FA Cup 1977 Charity Shield |
| 1982–1994 | Bryan Robson | 1982–83 FA Cup 1983 Charity Shield 1984–85 FA Cup 1985 Charity Shield 1989–90 FA Cup 1990 Charity Shield 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup 1991 European Super Cup 1991–92 Football League Cup 1992–93 Premier League 1993–94 Premier League 1993–94 FA Cup |
| 1994–1996 | Steve Bruce | 1994 Community Shield 1995–96 Premier League 1995–96 FA Cup |
| 1996–1997 | Eric Cantona | 1996 Community Shield 1996–97 Premier League |
| 1997–2005 | Roy Keane | 1997 Community Shield 1998–99 Premier League 1998–99 FA Cup 1998–99 UEFA Champions League 1999 Intercontinental Cup 1999–00 Premier League 2000–01 Premier League 2002–03 Premier League 2003 Community Shield 2003–04 FA Cup |
| 2005–2010 | Gary Neville | 2005–06 Football League Cup 2006–07 Premier League 2007 Community Shield 2007–08 Premier League 2007–08 UEFA Champions League 2008 Community Shield 2008 FIFA Club World Cup 2008–09 Football League Cup 2008–09 Premier League 2009–10 Football League Cup |
| 2010–2014 | Nemanja Vidić | 2010 Community Shield 2010–11 Premier League 2011 Community Shield 2012–13 Premier League 2013 Community Shield |
| 2014–2017 | Wayne Rooney | 2015–16 FA Cup 2016 Community Shield 2016–17 EFL Cup 2016–17 UEFA Europa League |
| 2017–2018 | Michael Carrick | |
| 2018–2019 | Antonio Valencia | |
| 2019–2020 | Ashley Young | |
| 2020–2023 | Harry Maguire | 2022–23 EFL Cup |
| 2023– | Bruno Fernandes | 2023–24 FA Cup |

## Vice-captains

The vice-captain position at Manchester United has been announced by managers after a player has been appointed on a de facto basis. In general, the vice-captain has succeeded the captain.
| Dates | Vice-captain | Captain | Ref. |
| 2010–2014 | Patrice Evra | Nemanja Vidic | |
| 2014–2015 | Darren Fletcher | Wayne Rooney | |
| 2015–2017 | Michael Carrick | Wayne Rooney | |
| 2017–2018 | Antonio Valencia | Michael Carrick | |
| 2018 | Paul Pogba | Antonio Valencia | |
| 2018–2021 | Position vacant | Position vacant | Position vacant |
| 2021–2023 | Bruno Fernandes | Harry Maguire | |
| 2023–2024 | Casemiro | Bruno Fernandes | |
| 2024– | Lisandro Martínez | Bruno Fernandes | |