Ilkay Gundogan wore the armband as Manchester City won the treble but was soon on a plane to Barcelona. West Ham’s Europa Conference League winning skipper Declan Rice has traded the east of London for the north. And even EFL Cup winners Manchester United have their hopes pinned on club captain Harry Maguire finding pastures new.
They won’t be the first Premier League players to lead their sides to victory and then depart, here’s an XI made up from those who lifted a trophy and left.
Goalkeeper: Peter Schmeichel
Just like Gundogan, Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel departed with a treble to his name, with the Great Dane captaining the Red Devils in his final appearance for the club in the 1999 Champions League Final against Bayern Munich. David Seaman is also eligible for this side, having led Arsenal to victory in the 2003 FA Cup final in the absence of Patrick Vieira. If you fancy a goalkeeper challenge, try naming another former Premier League goalkeeper who left a club just after lifting the FA Cup as skipper.
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Centre-back: Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce’s departure from Old Trafford wasn’t quite as triumphant as Schmeichel’s, after Alex Ferguson preferred David May as Gary Pallister’s partner in the centre of defence for the 1996 FA Cup final win over fierce rivals Liverpool. Bruce still left a winner, having lifted the Premier League title just days before the ‘Double Double’ was completed.
Centre-back: Tony Adams
Long-serving Arsenal captain Tony Adams had the perfect end to his career, signing off with a league and cup double. Arsene Wenger’s men had an incredible end to the 2001/02 campaign, winning all of their final 13 games of the season, as well as seeing off fellow London side Chelsea in the final of the FA Cup at the Millenium stadium.
Centre-back: John Terry
John Terry played against Adams that day and was no doubt ready in full kit even before he was named on the bench 15 years later as Chelsea once again lost out to the Gunners in the final of the cup. Terry could console himself with the Premier League title in his final season at Stamford Bridge, despite Antonio Conte dropping his skipper from the first eleven for the majority of the 2016/17 campaign.
Central midfield: Vincent Kompany
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany will have to revert back to his early years as a defensive midfielder for this side, giving the Belgian a chance to get forward and score another thunderbolt à la Leicester City 2018/19. That strike was key in Manchester City retaining the Premier League crown in Kompany’s last year at the club, with the Citizens also winning the FA Cup and League Cup.
Central midfield: Fernandinho
Kompany’s former team-mate at the Etihad joins him in midfield, having led Manchester City to the title in May last year after Pep Guardiola’s men came from behind to beat Aston Villa on the final day of the season and pip Liverpool to first by one point. The Brazilian returned to South America with first club Atheltico Paranaense the following month.
Central midfield: Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira completes a trio of former Manchester City players in central midfield, but the Frenchman is of course more well known for his successful spell at Arsenal. Vieira had the daunting task of replacing Tony Adams as skipper at Highbury but went on to lead the Gunners to an incredible unbeaten league campaign in 2003/04 before captaining the side to FA Cup glory a year later, scoring the decisive penalty in the shootout victory against Manchester United in his last act as an Arsenal player.
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Right wing: Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson will have to start out on the right wing for this side and there’s certainly an argument for the Manchester United legend to be selected as the skipper of the skippers. Captain Marvel was coming to the end of his career as the Red Devils dominated the nascent years of the Premier League and was used sparingly by Alex Ferguson, but he still proved to be a huge influence on the ’93 and ’94 title-winning sides before leaving to become player-manager at Middlesbrough.
Left wing: David Silva
Spanish magician David Silva didn’t have quite the same Manchester City send-offs as Messrs Gundogan and Kompany, with a COVID-hit season in 2019/20 resulting in empty stadiums, whilst a rampant Liverpool side left City in a distant second place in the league. However, Silva did lead the club to a third consecutive win in the EFL Cup before returning home with Real Sociedad.
Striker: Eric Cantona
Following the departure of Steve Bruce, enigmatic Frenchman Eric Cantona took on the armband at Old Trafford and inspired a Manchester United side full of Fergie’s Fledglings to another Premier League title, his fifth in six seasons at the club. However, the predictably unpredictable Cantona stunned fans with the announcement of his retirement soon after, just shy of his 31st birthday.
Striker: Wayne Rooney
Manchester United’s trophy cabinet hasn’t seen much action since the departure of Alex Ferguson in 2013 but Jose Mourinho did manage to add a cup even his illustrious predecessor never got his hands on. The Red Devils reached the final of the Europa League in 2017, Wayne Rooney’s last year at Old Trafford, and the club’s record goalscorer signed off in style after lifting the trophy in Stockholm following a 2-0 win over Ajax.
