Raphinha is Barcelona’s captain. The Brazilian takes the first armband for the 2026/27 season, according to ESPN Brazil, in a five-man structure that runs Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Gavi and Eric García.


Why now


The dressing room lost its senior voices in the space of one summer. Marc-André ter Stegen and Ronald Araújo have both left on loan, and Frenkie de Jong is out with a serious knee injury. That removed two of the club’s most influential figures and sidelined a third, and left Hansi Flick needing a leader rather than a formality.


Why Raphinha


Flick did not so much appoint him as recognise what had already happened. Raphinha’s teammates were treating him as the natural captain regardless of the armband, and his personality, his commitment and how central he has become on the pitch settled it. The decision is still a surprise in one sense: De Jong was the expected choice on seniority, and he has been passed over while injured.


What it says about the squad


It is a young order behind him. Pedri, Gavi and Eric García sit third, fourth and fifth, which is a deliberate signal about who Flick expects to lead this team for the next several seasons rather than the next several months. Raphinha arrived in 2022 as a winger whose future at the club was questioned almost annually. He starts this season as the man who speaks for it.