Who will be the next Barcelona captain? Ronald Araujo stakes his claim to succeed Sergio Busquets

The Blaugrana have seen their armband passed between a number of iconic home-grown stars in recent times, with the likes of Carles Puyol, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Busquets taking on skipper duties. The latter has now left as a free agent and linked up with Inter Miami, where he will be reunited with Messi, and another on-field leader is required to step up at Camp Nou.

Long-serving Sergi Roberto - as another La Masia academy graduate - is expected to get the nod, but Uruguayan defender Araujo has said when asked if he could be a captaincy candidate: “I am proud of the possibility of becoming a Barcelona captain, but it does not depend on me. We have to respect those players who have been here longer. I consider myself a natural leader, regardless of whether I wear the armband or not, and that will continue for the rest of my career. I feel important and I think that was seen last year. I have to maintain that and help the team. We have to have a better season than last year.

Araujo has been on Barca’s books since 2018, taking in 113 competitive appearances for the club, and will have a new centre-half partner next season as Inigo Martinez joins the ranks in Catalunya. Araujo has said of that summer transfer: “He’s a great player, we already know that. He hasn’t been able to train with us yet, but he will soon. I’m happy to be in another pre-season. We have a nice team. Important players are arriving who are going to add things and we believe that we can go for all the competitions.

Barca missed out on the chance to re-sign Messi in the current window, as he headed to MLS, but they have acquired Martinez and former Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan – with the promise of more deals to come despite financial uncertainty continuing to reign at Camp Nou.