Barcelona’s Golden Boy seen as a possible captaincy candidate within the dressing room

With Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba departing the club this summer, Barcelona have vacancies in their leadership group heading into the next season.

The Catalans appoint four captains at the start of every campaign and a voting will be conducted soon for the players to choose the four skippers for the 2023/24 season.

Unless there is any dramatic change, Sergi Roberto, the seniormost player at the club, is likely to be voted in as the first captain. Following him should be Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who was made the captain after Gerard Pique’s retirement last season.

It leaves two vacant slots for which captains will be chosen. And, according to SPORT, midfield prodigy Pedri is seen as a possible candidate for the job by some within the Barcelona dressing room.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who won the Golden Boy Award for 2021, has grown into a permanent fixture in the starting XI for the Blaugrana and is seen as the beating heart of their midfield unit.

While there is no questioning Pedri’s influence and importance on the pitch, the report states that he is a beloved figure within the dressing room as well.

Pedri is seen as a friendly, cheerful character who has won over the affection of his teammates. The 20-year-old is usually seen spending time with the likes of Eric Garcia, Gavi, and Ferran Torres, because of them being in a similar age group. However, he gets along with everyone in the dressing room.

Given his quality on the field and the fact that teammates look to him for solutions during difficult phases in matches, there is a belief within the dressing room that Pedri is “more of a captain than he appears to be.”

As iterated earlier, the voting process to elect a new captain will soon be held. And Pedri could very well be a contender for the role.

Ousmane Dembele is also seen as an option given his newfound maturity and growing importance while the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Ronald Araujo, and Frenkie de Jong would also be in contention.