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Wayne Rooney will be ­devastated if he is not handed the Manchester United ­captaincy by new boss Louis van Gaal, writes Steve Bates in the Sunday People.

The England international believes his 10 years at the club and senior status should ensure he will be the new United skipper ahead of Robin van Persie.

Van Gaal, the 62-year-old replacement for sacked David Moyes, will face one of the biggest decisions of his managerial career when he walks into the club on Tuesday to take ­control of the fallen champions.

If he picks his Dutch World Cup leader Van Persie it will trigger speculation that Rooney’s future is under threat.

And that will plunge the club into a sideshow Van Gaal could do without as he attempts to get them back on track.

Van Gaal will speak with Rooney for the first time this week.

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The 28-year-old attacker has set his heart on the captaincy, but he will accept the new manager’s decision, having signed a new £300,000-a-week deal just last season.

There will be no mega-sulk – he has indicated to friends that he will back Van Gaal and Van Persie if the ­Dutchman gets the armband.

But Rooney believes his record makes him the stand-out candidate, with Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand gone and Ryan Giggs retired.

Last night, though, Holland star Van Persie was hailed as the ideal leader for Van Gaal after completing Mission Impossible – unifying a ­notoriously divisive Dutch camp in Brazil.

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Past World Cups and European Championships have ended in bitterness and in-fighting among the Dutch squad. But not this time.

Under Van Persie’s captaincy, they have enjoyed their calmest tournament in years and Van Gaal has seen first hand his star striker’s ability to create an impressive team spirit.

RVP has been ­credited with creating much of the harmony that took Holland to within a penalty shootout of today’s final in Rio.

Former Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt is in no doubt that van Persie would make a perfect United skipper after his stewardship in Brazil.

He said: “I’ve played in five ­tournaments and the togetherness of the squad has never been as great as it has been at this World Cup.

“It’s something I haven’t experienced before and a lot of that is down to Robin. I think we were a genuine team.

“He was injured for two months and fought so hard to come back – the way he led the team was fantastic.”

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However, Van Persie’s fitness record may work against him at Old Trafford with Rooney a more regular and ­reliable starter.

And although Van Persie was made Holland captain under Van Gaal, the new United boss has already proved he is not into sentiment.

He has dropped Van Persie from the Holland team before and he ­substituted him during the World Cup in Brazil.

And his startling 120th minute ­extra-time decision to replace Ajax keeper Jasper Cillessen with Newcastle’s Tim Krul for the quarter-final penalty shootout with Costa Rica is being seen by Rooney as a positive sign that the captaincy is not a done deal.

Rooney believes Van Gaal will act for the good of the team – and he is crossing his fingers the forthright Dutchman will recognise that he is the man to follow Vidic as captain.

Meanwhile, senior United sources are cock-a-hoop at their decision to appoint van Gaal.

The Dutchman’s stock was already high after managing Barcelona and Bayern Munich but Van Gaal’s impact with Holland at the World Cup has been the “icing on the cake”, ­according to sources.

Van Gaal has been in regular contact with key members of the board as well as new assistant boss Ryan Giggs while out in Brazil.

Club officials have been impressed by his decisiveness, clear-thinking and the key objectives he aims to pursue once he is in position this week.