Barcelona announced this Friday the four captains of FC Barcelona. In this order Sergi Roberto, Ter Stegen, Araújo and Frenkie de Jong will be the leaders of the team and responsible for the bracelet after a vote that took place in Los Angeles.
The criteria that have been followed to choose the leaders have been the ancestry and importance in the club. Under this principle, the third captaincy will go to Ronald Araújo. The Uruguayan, a footballer also very loved by the fans and valued for his grit and overwhelming personality, has four seasons in the first team to which must be added two more seasons in the subsidiary. "I already consider myself a born leader without a bracelet," he pointed out just 24 hours ago.
The coaching staff was clear that criteria such as seniority would not be prioritized in the vote. A factor that would have elevated Ousmane Dembélé to the captaincy – 23-24 will be his seventh season at the club. The next on the list is Frenkie de Jong, a footballer who will celebrate five years at Barcelona this season and who has also gained ascendancy in the team after last season he lived an uncomfortable summer with various pressures to leave the entity for financial reasons.
The departures of Gerard Piqué in January and of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba in June confirmed the change of cycle in the select group of captains who, along with Sergi Roberto, could boast of their football origins. Of that group of four leaders trained in La Masia, only Sergi Roberto follows. The man from Reus, who started last year as the third holder of the bracelet and finished last year as second captain, climbs one more step.
Second place will remain the property of goalkeeper Marc André Ter Stegen, who joined the leaders' club in January after Piqué's departure. Ter Stegen has not only gained more confidence on a sporting level after a great season in which he has won his first Zamora award. His teammates and coaching staff consider him a great leader also off the field. Involved, hardworking, a benchmark and hungry for titles.
