Ilkay Gündogan will remain Germany captain despite the return of long-time skipper Manuel Neuer, coach Julian Nagelsmann confirmed on Thursday.
Barcelona midfielder Gündogan was named captain last year by then coach Hansi Flick when Neuer, who had the function since 2014, was sidelined with a leg fracture.
Gündogan remained captain when Nagelsmann took over in autumn, and Nagelsmann said this will not change now that Neuer is back in the squad for friendlies against France and the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 run-up.
"For me, this captain issue is more something that concerns the team," Nagelsmann said.
"The players should have the feeling that they have a leader in their ranks who they can always come to if they have concerns that they perhaps don't want to discuss directly with the coach."
Gündogan, 33, had told Prime Video earlier in the week: "At the moment, I assume that I am still the captain,"
But he added that many other players must also shoulder responsibilities to make the team successful again, and that "in the end, it doesn't really matter who wears the armband."