Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is delighted Rio Ferdinand has been named new England captain.

Ferdinand, who missed the 5-0 victory against Portsmouth through suspension, replaces John Terry.

The Chelsea defender has been stripped of the honour by manager Fabio Capello following damaging allegations about his private life.

Ferdinand is promoted from vice-captain and follows in the footsteps of other United players like Gary Neville, Bryan Robson, David Beckham and Sir Bobby Charlton.

Ferguson said: "We are pleased for him and it's great for Manchester United to have one of our players captaining our country.

"Over the years we've had Gary, Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson for 60-odd games or something so we're very proud of that."