The five players who should be Barcelona captains for the 2025/26 season – Opinion | OneFootball

One of the biggest talking points surrounding FC Barcelona in recent days has been the captaincy issue. The leadership group is set to be announced imminently, and there is a lot of drama surrounding it.

One cannot remember the last time captaincy caused such a huge debate at the Catalan club. Things have been fairly sorted for the past decade, but the same cannot be said ahead of the 2025/26 season.

Of course, the elephant in the room has to be Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. The current first captain of Barcelona is unlikely to play a single minute for the club anymore.

The German is retaliating, and a cold war is ongoing between the club and the player. It has even emerged that Barcelona made the decision to strip Ter Stegen of the captaincy.

Considering the way he has conducted himself in recent months, Ter Stegen has absolutely no business being Barcelona’s captain anymore, and taking the armband away from him would be the right call.

With that in mind, we at Sempre Barca present our opinion on who should form the five-man leadership group at Barcelona for the 2025/26 season and beyond.

With that in mind, we at Sempre Barca present our ideal five-man captaincy lineup for Barcelona heading into the 2025/26 season and beyond.

1. Frenkie de Jong

Some might consider this a slightly controversial take, but Frenkie de Jong has earned the right to become the first captain of Barcelona for the upcoming season. The Dutchman was behind Ter Stegen and Ronald Araujo until last year, but it is safe to say that he has leapfrogged them.

Frenkie and Barcelona fans haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but last season, something changed. He missed the first half of the campaign through injury and took some time to get back to his best. From January 2025, though, there was no looking back.

It is safe to say that the Dutch maestro had one of his best seasons in a Blaugrana jersey, and Hansi Flick placed immense trust in him. With Ter Stegen injured and Araujo far from a starter, Frenkie also wore the armband for almost the entirety of the second half of last season.

Through the month, Frenkie matured – both as a defensive midfielder and a captain. Wearing the armband, he was vocal, fought for his teammates, and almost always conducted himself with dignity and impressed one and all.

The only concern with Frenkie would be the fact that he is yet to put pen to paper on a new deal. However, the player himself has confirmed that he would be signing a new contract.

He has shown his commitment to the club by breaking ties with the agent he had been with for almost his entire career, just to sign a new deal at Barcelona.

If this isn’t considered loyal enough, then what is? Please do sign the papers soon, though, skipper!

2. Raphinha

Unlike Frenkie, there isn’t much convincing to do here, is there? The only reason the Brazilian ranks below the Dutchman in our list is because of the number of years Frenkie has spent at Barcelona, compared to Raphinha.

Raphinha was a surprise addition to the captaincy group last season, but boy, didn’t he impress! With Ter Stegen, Araujo, and Frenkie injured for much of the first half of the season, the Brazilian took on the armband and emerged to be a huge leader on the pitch.

The Brazilian seems to be a born leader. He looks like a personality who would run through a brick wall for the badge. He seems to have an excellent influence on the youngsters in and around him. He has to be the second-choice captain for Barcelona, but one won’t be surprised if he is the first, either.

3. Ronald Araujo

Another slightly controversial take, but Araujo doesn’t deserve a bigger demotion than dropping from 2nd captain to 3rd captain for the upcoming season. Unlike Ter Stegen, the Uruguayan continues to be a huge part of Hansi Flick’s plans.

It is just that the South American has failed to play at his best for a couple of seasons now. However, one knows just how Araujo can be, at his best, and he very much deserves to continue to be a part of the first-team leadership group.

Any bigger demotion than this might knock out his confidence, and that is something Barcelona need to be aware of. Thus, the third seems just right in our rankings, and should he get back to his best, it would bode well for the club.

4. Pedri

Pedri was Barcelona’s fifth captain last season and didn’t really get a chance to wear the armband much, with Raphinha playing almost every single minute for the club. However, armband or not, he conducted himself like a leader.

Some may argue that the Spaniard deserves to rank above Araujo in this list, but Pedri is the kind of player who feels like he would behave the same whether or not he is the captain on the pitch. The Spaniard’s importance cannot be understated.

5. Gavi

This is arguably the most difficult decision to make, as it would mean adding someone who wasn’t a part of the leadership group previously. Of course, the other candidates that we considered included Inigo Martinez and Robert Lewandowski, but our choice is Gavi.

If you take a knife and slit Gavi’s wrist, you would probably see him bleed Blaugrana. There is no one in the squad who is more passionate than the 21-year-old, and he would take a bullet for the Catalan club, should it come to it.

Thus, there is no one who deserves the 5th place on this list than Gavi. It would be a lovely moment to see him being added to the leadership group for the 2025/26 season and beyond.

Conclusion

Of course, this is just Sempre Barca’s opinion. Ultimately, the club’s players vote on captaincy, and outside of Ter Stegen, the final ranking could come down to majority preference.

All eyes now turn to the club as we await the official announcement of Barcelona’s leadership group for the 2025/26 season. It promises to be an intriguing few hours.