Wayne Rooney facing being stripped of Manchester United captaincy by Jose Mourinho if he remains at Old Trafford next season

WAYNE ROONEY faces being stripped of the Manchester United captaincy by boss Jose Mourinho if he stays for one more season.

The record-goalscorer for club and country is out of contract next summer and United are happy for him to leave in this transfer window.

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Old club Everton along with a number of MLS and Chinese Super League sides are fighting for his signature.

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Ex-Chelsea chief Mourinho has already started to mull over delegating responsibilities to his squad next season.

This includes who will be his new captain and his deputy, with Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba in the frame.

Rooney spent the majority of last season on the bench, and it will be the same in this campaign if he snubs interest and remains at Old Trafford.

A source said: "Wayne is facing losing the captaincy next season if he stays.

"He is out of contract next year. Jose is already thinking about who to delegate the squad responsibilities to.

"There's a few obvious names in the frame with Michael being at the club for so long and Paul a leader at the club.

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"Wayne had hardly any game time last year and the feeling around the camp is it is his time to leave after a great service.

"It’s the elephant in the room at Carrington, will Wazza still be captain if he’s here next season?

“He’s obviously a club legend and still holds a lot of sway with the lads but the backroom staff have seen a few leaders emerging after last season.”

Wayne Rooney factfile

• Rooney started his career at Everton before moving to Manchester United in a £25.6m deal in 2004
• He became United's all-time leading scorer last season when he bagged his 250th goal
• The 31-year-old is also England's all-time leading goalscorer, and has made 119 appearances for his country
• He is married to childhood sweetheart Coleen and they have three children together
• Rooney has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford and could head back to ex-club Everton
• His brother John also plays football, and is currently at North Wales-based side Wrexham

Rooney is already back in pre-season training after cutting his holiday short to get ready for the new campaign.

The 31-year-old headed back to Carrington three weeks early, with United set to fly out for their US tour on July 9.

He has begun working on his own fitness programme in an effort to get back to peak condition.