Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has officially retained the England captaincy, new national team boss Sam Allardyce has confirmed. It comes after the manager spent time deliberating over whether to keep the all-time record goalscorer in the important role.
Rooney was named in Allardyce's first squad since taking charge of England but the former Bolton and West Ham boss had yet to make a decision on where the armband would go.
💬 @OfficialBigSam on why he has retained @WayneRooney as #ThreeLions captain pic.twitter.com/LYDXz4opXE
Rumours surfacing on social media on Monday afternoon suggested that Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson was in line to take the national captaincy, but those widely unpopular claims have now proven to be false.
"Wayne has been an excellent captain for England and the manner in which he has fulfilled the role made it an easy decision for me to ask him to continue,� Allardyce told TheFA.com.
"Wayne's record speaks for itself. He is the most senior member of the squad and he is hugely respected by his peers.
"All of these factors point towards him being the right choice to lead the team."
Rooney, who made his senior international debut as a 17-year-old in 2003, will become England's most capped outfield player of all time this weekend when he takes to the field against Slovakia, now all but certain unless an unforeseen injury rules him out of action.
The 30-year-old is currently level with ex-captain David Beckham on 115 caps, one ahead of another former skipper in Steven Gerrard on 114, and just 10 behind goalkeeper Peter Shilton in terms of taking the overall record.
Rooney broke Sir Bobby Charlton's long standing goal record of 49 international strikes in 2015 and currently has 53 England goals to his name.
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