Barcelona announce 4 club captains for 2023-24 season
Barcelona have announced their four captains for the 2023-24 campaign following the departure of Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets last season.
Pique announced his retirement in November 2022. Meanwhile, club legends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba left on free transfers earlier this summer and have joined Inter Miami CF.
Barca have now announced on social media that Sergi Roberto, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong will be their captains for the next season.
Roberto, 31, came through Barcelona's famed La Masia academy and made his senior debut in 2013. The right-back has made 349 senior appearances for the club, contributing 16 goals and 40 assists. He has won seven La Liga titles, among others.
Ter Stegen, meanwhile, has been excellent for the Blaugrana since arriving from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2014. The 31-year-old has kept 157 clean sheets in 377 games for the club. He kept an impressive 26 clean sheets in 38 La Liga games last season, helping Barca win the title.
Ronaldo Araujo, 24, is widely regarded as one of the most talented young defenders in the world. He joined Barcelona B from Boston River in 2018 and has made 113 senior appearances for the club.
Frenkie de Jong, meanwhile, joined Barca from Ajax in 2019 and has contributed 15 goals and 21 assists in 183 appearances. He was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United last summer but chose to stay at the Camp Nou.
Former Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets explains MLS move
Sergio Busquets left Barcelona on a free transfer earlier this summer after an 18-year stay with the club. He made 722 senior appearances for the Blaugrana and registered 18 goals and 45 assists.
The Spaniard also won nine La Liga and three UEFA Champions League titles, among others. Busquets has joined MLS side Inter Miami CF. He recently talked about the difference in pressure between playing in the MLS and in Europe (via Barca Blaugranes):
“In terms of football, I have only been here a short time. I have only been here three days, but it is another culture. It is more spectacle in that it does not depend so much on whether you win or lose, but at the end, it is the path that takes you there and what you accomplish during that time."
He added:
“It is very different from the pressure and what they can ask of you in Spain and in Europe in general.”
Busquets has joined former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba at Inter Miami.