Raphinha and Pedri lead Barcelona’s new captaincy group after squad consultation

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick says he consulted his players before finalising the club’s captaincy group for the 2026-27 season, with Raphinha and Pedri selected as the main captains.

Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong and Lamine Yamal will complete the five-man group, after Flick chose to make changes following Barcelona’s two LaLiga title-winning campaigns under the former Bayern Munich manager.

The decision comes after several experienced players moved away from the squad. Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ronald Araujo left on loan for Ajax and Liverpool respectively, while Robert Lewandowski also moved on.

Those departures reduced the senior experience available to Flick and created a significant gap in the squad ahead of the new campaign. The Barcelona manager therefore decided to make his own selections for the two leading captaincy positions, while allowing the squad to determine the remaining members.

“I've been here for three years and I know the team better now. I decided on Raphinha and Pedri and the squad chose the other three.

“My staff and I have a better understanding of what's in the team, and for me it's important to see who has a lot of influence. That's why I chose Raphinha and Pedri.

“I didn't want to decide on the other three, just these two, because they're very important.”

Flick said his increasing familiarity with the players and the squad’s internal influence were central to his decision. After three years at the club, he believes he and his coaching staff have a clearer understanding of the personalities and leadership qualities within the group.

Rather than imposing all five choices himself, Flick opted to identify Raphinha and Pedri as the two players he wanted to appoint directly. The rest of the captaincy group was then chosen by their Barcelona team-mates.

The new structure follows a summer of change for the LaLiga champions. The exits of ter Stegen, Araujo and Lewandowski have altered both the make-up of the squad and the experience available to the manager.

Raphinha and Pedri will now take the prominent roles, with Garcia, De Jong and Yamal also carrying leadership responsibilities during the 2026-27 campaign. flick said the process reflected the importance of allowing the players to have a voice in the composition of their leadership group.