The Premier League champions selected Fernandinho as club captain following the departure of David Silva at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.
It was confirmed by City boss Pep Guardiola in a press-conference in August that the club would be choosing their leadership group when the transfer window would close, with the Catalan boss perhaps hinting at the potential signing of Harry Kane from Tottenham.
However, with City failing in their pursuit of the England captain, the club managed to secure the arrival of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, whilst Sergio Aguero left the club after a decade earlier this summer.
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As reported by Mike McGrath of The Telegraph, City players and staff were tasked with electing the new set of captains this week, and while Fernandinho remained the skipper, the vice-captain has now changed.
It has been stated that Ilkay Gundogan is the second-captain, with Kevin De Bruyne having moved further down to fourth in the pecking order, with Ruben Dias, who has emerged as a key leader in the City dressing room over the past year, now the third-choice captain.
Interestingly, Raheem Sterling, who was linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium this summer, did not win a spot in the leadership group, despite this being his seventh season at City.
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Fernandinho, who agreed to sign a one-year extension at City in the summer, has been an instrumental figure in the squad, especially last season, as it was his speech following his side’s 2-0 defeat away at Tottenham that proved to be the turning point in the Sky Blues’ title-winning campaign.
Gundogan has been one of the best and most consistent City players during Pep Guardiola’s reign at the club, whilst Dias has gone from strength to strength since his arrival to the club from Benfica in 2020.
De Bruyne, who picked up the PFA Player’s Player of the Year award for the second season running in May, also sealed a place in the leadership group, whilst Sterling has missed out altogether, which could have come as a result of his poor form for City towards the end of the previous campaign.
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