Following years of continuity when it came to the captain's armband, the conversation surrounding who should skipper Manchester City has become quite the talking point in recent seasons.
At the beginning of each season, City's players and backroom staff vote on who will make up the captains list for that campaign - a captain, vice-captain and two other deputies are chosen.
In a recent vote, Fernandinho retained his position as skipper, but to the surprise of many, Kevin De Bruyne lost his place as vice-captain to Ilkay Gundogan, and even dropped to fourth in the pecking order behind Ruben Dias.
On the surface, it looks like a blow to De Bruyne's standing within the squad. But, on closer inspection, it is actually a good thing - for both the player and his teammates.
De Bruyne captained City in 14 Premier League games last season and seven in the Champions League, so it's clear that there were no strong reservations within the squad over him leading the side. After all, his colleagues did vote for him.
However, what became clear is that De Bruyne is not the type of captain that City need - he is too similar to Pep Guardiola.
City failed to win six of the games in which the midfielder led them out, by no means an awful record, but his style of captaincy in those games was telling. When things weren't going to plan for the Blues, De Bruyne became very frustrated, berating his teammates for their mistakes and not offering much to boost collective morale and confidence.
In that sense, he is like his coach. Everybody saw the rollickings Guardiola gave to Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez midway through the 6-3 win against RB Leipzig, apparently because they weren't performing the defensive duties he had instructed them to.
That's all well and good - that is Pep's style, and it clearly works. But when a team's manager is as demanding and intense as Guardiola, then the captain needs to take on a good cop role. That is just not De Bruyne's bag.
While his shouting and gesticulating might make him seem like captaincy material, in reality the likes of Fernandinho, Gundogan and Dias offer a more nurturing style. Their arm-around-the-shoulder leadership approach that suits a City team that performs at their best when they are calm. On the rare occasions they find themselves chasing a game, the last thing City need is to be whipped into a panicked frenzy.
At times last season, it appeared that the captain's armband was almost a burden on De Bruyne. In games that City struggled in - such as the 0-2 defeat at Spurs in November - the Belgium star felt compelled to try and do everything himself, attempting Hollywood passes and generally just working himself up. The way in which he tried to carry the team on his shoulders was almost Steven Gerrard-esque - the type of bravura approach that can be thrilling from time to time but is not sustainable or healthy for team or player.
After the Spurs loss, it was Fernandinho, not De Bruyne, who delivered the famous speech that inspired the squad to recover their form and surge to the Premier League title.
There may also be an element of circumstance to all this.
When De Bruyne was voted in as vice-captain last season, Dias had barely stepped foot inside the Etihad Stadium following his transfer from Benfica. The attitude and leadership skills he has shown in the 12 months since made him a shoe-in for the captains team, regardless of whether De Bruyne was well-suited to the role or not. The inclusion of Fernandinho and Gundogan may also be explained by Guardiola's very Spanish managerial attitude that the most experienced players should be captains.
We all know that De Bruyne has a temper on him and that sometimes an angry Kevin is the best kind. When he's got a bee in his bonnet he can whip stunning assists and thunderous strikes out of nowhere but the captaincy seemed to put that little bit of extra pressure on him.
Having fallen to fourth choice in the captain ranks, we are unlikely to see De Bruyne wear the armband much this season, even if he is City's best player. Ordinarily, being compared to Guardiola would be a huge complement, but in this case it is something of a hindrance.
The playmaker is sure to enjoy an instrumental role in any success City might have this season, but doing so from a position slightly out of the spotlight will benefit him and the team.
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