Barcelona’s new captain has barely had the armband on before the demands to take it off him have started.

Raphinha travelled to Asia for Brazil’s two November friendlies rather than stay back in Catalonia, and on RAC1’s Tu Dirás programme, journalist Joan Poquí said he would remove the Brazilian from the captaincy on the spot. Poquí called the trip “unbearable” and told listeners the pattern of injuries picked up on international duty meant Barcelona were effectively running a holding pen for other countries’ national teams, in comments relayed by Goal.

Injured on Brazil duty three times this year

The frustration is not abstract. In March, Raphinha pulled his right hamstring during a 2-1 friendly defeat by France and missed more than a month of the Barcelona season. He then suffered a thigh problem during Brazil’s World Cup group game against Haiti in June. In the September international window he was hurt again, this time against Australia, and was substituted at half-time before being sent back to Barcelona.

That is the record Poquí had in mind when he said, speaking to RAC1, that Raphinha had been injured in each of the last three international breaks and was now walking into a fourth.

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Flick’s hand-picked leader

The timing matters because of who Raphinha is at the club this season. Hansi Flick named him the senior captain for the 2026-27 campaign, making him the first Brazilian ever appointed as Barcelona’s first-choice captain, with Pedri as vice-captain and Frenkie de Jong, Eric García and Lamine Yamal completing the leadership group after a squad vote.

Flick explained the choice by pointing to Raphinha’s influence in the dressing room and the fact that he and Pedri “nearly always play”.

A squad built for Ancelotti’s rebuild

Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti kept Raphinha in his 26-man party anyway, picking a youthful group with 15 players under the age of 23 as he pushes towards the 2030 cycle. Brazil face Japan on 14 November and Singapore on 17 November, both matches at Singapore’s National Stadium.

Raphinha’s answer

Raphinha has pushed back on the idea that going was reckless. He said Ancelotti was aware of the workload questions and that the two had spoken directly about managing his minutes, and he told fans his condition was good even if he was not yet at peak fitness.

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Brazil kick off against Japan on Saturday 14 November at Singapore’s National Stadium, with the Singapore match three days later at the same venue.

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