The armband slips away from De Jong
Hansi Flick settled a question this morning that had lingered since the end of the transfer window. Raphinha will be Barcelona’s No. 1 captain this season. Eric Garcia and Pedri complete the leadership group as second and third captains.
The call is worth a closer look. The departures of Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ronald Araujo had emptied the top of the list, and the logic of seniority pointed to Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman has been at the club since 2019, surviving four coaches and two financial crises. Flick went with a different measure.
That measure is influence on the pitch. Raphinha arrived in 2022 from Leeds carrying the label of an inconsistent winger. Under Flick he has become the player who sets Barcelona’s press in motion, as well as one of the sharpest finishers in the squad.
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A pecking order that may not last
Flick added a caveat himself. Once the squad is complete, the players are expected to vote on their captains, as tradition dictates in Catalonia. The Barca dressing room has chosen its representatives for decades, and the system has outlasted every change at the top.
The current list could still change. Even so, it sends a message about the season ahead: two of the three names, Eric Garcia and Pedri, are La Masia graduates. The third is a 29-year-old Brazilian who has never hidden how much the club means to him.
What it says about the dressing room
Handing the armband to Raphinha rather than De Jong is a sign that Flick’s Barca will lean first on its attacking players. It also backs a player whose future has been questioned more than once in recent seasons.
The players’ vote will show whether the dressing room is with their manager on this one.
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