Germany centre-back Jerome Boateng has confirmed he wants to become the national team captain following Bastian Schweinsteiger’s international retirement.

Schweinsteiger confirmed his decision at the end of last month following his team’s semi-final exit at the European Championships.

The 31-year-old retired as Germany’s fourth most-capped player of all time on 120, 12 years after he made his debut in 2004.

Schweinsteiger man currently holds the German record for European Championships appearances, having played in 18 games at the tournament.

However, manager Joachim Low has now got to turn his attention to the future and Boateng has offered his services.

The former Manchester City defender is one of many candidates, with both Manuel Neuer and Mats Hummels available.

Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira has also been linked with the post but Boateng has confirmed his intentions and admits it would be an honour to lead out his country.

He told Bild: “It is an honour to be captain of your country and I would certainly be ready. It is an important role.

You are representing your country and you have responsibility. “We have plenty of strong leaders in the national team.

There is not just one boss. Jogi Low will certainly make the right decision as to who will succeed Basti.”

Low will have his new captain in place before Germany’s qualifying campaign for the World Cup starts and you can you back his side to win the competition in 2018 at odds of 6.00 with Dafabet.