Many raised an eyebrow this summer when Brazilian winger Raphinha was selected by his teammates to be a fifth captain at Barcelona, who normally have four captains in their leadership group. He has more than repaid that faith, with stunning form so far consisting of six goals and six assists in 11 games so far.
In addition, he has shown on various occasions how seriously he is taking leadership at the Catalan club, but it is not purely for those skills that he was selected. Traditionally, captains have been selected on time at the club. Eric Garcia, Ferran Torres and Gavi were all in the first team before the Brazilian, while Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde arrived at the same time.
The motive behind his selection, say Sport, is his relationship with Sporting Director Deco. The ex-Barcelona midfielder played a large role in his arrival at the club as his agent, and Raphinha is yet to sign to a new agent since Deco became Blaugrana Sporting Director, dropping the Brazilian international in the process.
Sergiño Dest (PSV): "Barcelona are doing really well and have a clear idea of what they want. This year they can win La Liga because they are already showing the hunger for title they have. They started very well and now they have to continue like this." @tjuanmarti
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 13, 2024
The squad were of the opinion that Raphinha’s word might carry more weight with Deco due to their pre-existing relationship. Should any issues arise, he might be able to influence Deco more easily.
Raphinha’s time at Barcelona has been mixed until now, and this summer he was regularly linked with a move away, as was the case in January. The arrival of Hansi Flick has been the advent of him locking down a spot in the first team for the first time. Previously, both Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal challenged him for his spot, and until spring, he was rarely used on the left.
