Undercurrents in Barcelona s locker room: Captain s candidate question surfaces

Although Barcelona defeated FC Seoul 7-3 in South Korea, winning a hearty victory for their trip to Asia, there is a storm about the captain's candidate quietly brewing within the team. This seemingly off-field controversy is gradually evolving into a tense confrontation between the locker room and management.

End the Asian tour, the team may hold a sensitive internal meeting after returning to Barcelona, and the key topic is the re-establishment of the locker room leaders. The fuse of all this comes from a controversial decision by the club management.

After introducing goalkeeper Joan Garcia this summer, Barcelona senior executives quietly included the current main goalkeeper Ter Stegen on the transfer shortlist. However, the German goal-stop firmly refused to leave the team and chose to undergo surgery to completely resolve the back injury that had long plagued him. He himself expects the recovery period to be about three months, and this time is not enough to trigger the terms of "replacement players can be registered due to long-term injuries".

It was this move that aroused the dissatisfaction of many core players in the team. They believe that Ter Stegen has always devoted all his strength to the club for many years and is one of the team's spiritual pillars and should continue to serve as captain. Even if you are temporarily absent due to injury, you should not be deprived of this honor.

Now, the management plans to withdraw its captain's armband while Ter Stegen is still in the contract period and has not voluntarily left the team. This move is regarded by some players as "unfairness" and "lack of respect".

Dutch midfielder Frenki De Jong is the first player to publicly express his support for his teammates. He firmly spoke for Ter Stegen: "To me, Mark is still the captain of the team, just like last year. He always tried his best for the club, is a world-class goalkeeper, and is also respected by the whole team." This remark is believed to represent the true thoughts of most players in the locker room.

In contrast, players such as Eric Garcia and Conde chose to remain cautious to avoid being directly involved in controversy. Garcia only responded briefly: "Last year we voted to decide the captain, but the situation this year is not clear." Kong De also said: "This is something that the coaching staff and the club need to decide, not something I should worry about."