Barcelona squad decide: Frenkie de Jong moves up in the captaincy hierarchy

Frenkie de Jong has dropped one place in Barcelona's captaincy hierarchy. The Netherlands international was still third captain last season, but in the new campaign he will have to settle for fourth place. The players' group decided an important part of the order themselves.

Following the departures of Marc ter Stegen and Ronald Araujo, Barcelona had to reshape their captaincy structure for the 2026/27 season. De Jong looked set to move up because of those exits, but that did not happen.

Hansi Flick decided Raphinha is now first captain, with Pedri as his regular deputy. Last season, Ter Stegen and Araujo started as Barça's first captains.

The German coach did not want to take full control of the remaining three places himself. "I did not want to decide on the other three, only on these two, because they are very important," Flick said during his press moment. The squad were then given the chance to appoint the remaining captains themselves.

Eric García came out of that vote as third captain, meaning De Jong has to give up one place compared with last season. Lamine Yamal completes the group as fifth captain and, at the age of 19, has already been given an official leadership role within the squad.

That choice is seen as confirmation of the trust García has built under Flick. The defender commands plenty of respect within the group because of his professionalism, discipline and commitment to the team.

"In the end, the team chose these players and for me it is a good group, with leadership. I need all the players and their commitment to the team," Flick said.

Barcelona are in action against Valencia on Sunday, but will still have to do without the injured De Jong. In that game, Flick's side can capitalise on dropped points from rivals Real Madrid, who went down to Real Betis on Friday evening.