Raphinha named first captain of FC Barcelona

Raphinha, the Brazilian winger who arrived at FC Barcelona from Leeds United in the summer of 2022, has been appointed as the club’s first captain. The 29-year-old has made 177 appearances since joining the club, steadily evolving from a player fighting for his place in the squad to the kind of figure younger teammates look to for guidance and intensity. How Raphinha climbed the captaincy ladder Barcelona’s captaincy hierarchy is traditionally determined through squad votes, weighted by seniority, respect, and on-pitch contributions. When the club announced its official captaincy group for the 2024/25 season on August 23, 2024, Raphinha was slotted in as the fourth choice. Then came the kind of upheaval that tends to rewrite org charts in a hurry. Marc-André ter Stegen, who had been a pillar of Barcelona’s leadership structure, departed on loan. Ronald Araujo, another figure in the captaincy group, also left on loan. Frenkie de Jong, meanwhile, suffered a significant knee injury that sidelined him entirely. But reducing this to a process of elimination misses the point. Raphinha didn’t inherit the captaincy by default. His teammates have consistently recognized his competitive fire...