David Silva has been named Manchester City captain following the departure of Vincent Kompany.
The Spain international topped a vote from his team-mates to take the armband after Pep Guardiola put the decision to his players.
Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero will act as vice-captains for the 33-year-old, who will leave Premier League champions City at the end of the season.
Guardiola insists Silva is an ideal choice to fill the void left by Kompany, who departed to take over as player-manager at Anderlecht this summer.
“The captain has to be what he is,” said the City manager. “He’s been here for one decade, knows the Premier League and has big respect.
“He has to be himself - David has to be himself, make decisions for the team.
“Normally it depends what the captain is like when the locker room are nice guys. They know each other, they laugh a lot, it will not be a problem. He will be a good captain.”
City kick off the defence of their title against West Ham on Saturday. And despite winning an unprecedented domestic treble last season, Guardiola is demanding even more from his all-conquering side.
“Always we can improve,” he said. “Individually and collectively always we can improve.
“It’s the first game and always it’s important. The Community Shield is one title, but the first game – I saw the team well this week - all of them are incredibly good.”
