Guardiola admits he was unhappy with the players' vote last season, which saw Kyle Walker leave in midseason and Kevin de Bruyne run down his contract.
Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Rodri are the four captains named by Guardiola for the Club World Cup.
"I’m the manager and for the first time in my career I decide the captains," Guardiola said. "I didn’t like what happened last season and I decide who will represent the team.
"Sometimes I want to be the boss. This season I decided to do it, choose the four captains and after the tournament maybe we choose one or two more.
"Erling is incredibly well respected. He has to learn what it means to be a captain because he will hopefully be here for many years and sooner or later he will take that position to be the first one.
"When you have Bernardo, Rodri, Ruben and Gundogan – who was captain when we won the Treble - he will learn.
"The four will guide the new players. There will be problems this season, like any season, but it’s more than fine.
"These four players on the pitch, they are huge personalities. They say, “We cannot accept what is going on” and make the step up."