New first team captains confirmed
The captain’s of the FC Barcelona men’s first team have been announced for the 2024/25 season. In order of choice, these are Marc-André ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, Raphinha and Pedri, as voted by the squad members themselves.
Now that Sergi Roberto has departed, Ter Stegen takes over as the chief captain, a function that was previously served by Gerard Piqué before he too retired from first team duty. Ter Stegen was the second choice last season, but is already very used to serving as captain whenever Roberto was unavailable or not selected. The German stopper has been at Barça since 2014/15 and has played 414 times.
The knock-on effect means that Ronald Araujo, with 150 appearances, and Frenkie de Jong, with 213, move up one position each in the pecking order, with Raphinha and Pedri being the ‘new entries’ in fourth and fifth. The Brazilian has gained much impact and respect among his team-mates after 88 games in two seasons, and despite his youth, the Canary Islander is already a widely revered figure at the club after 144 official appearances.