Barcelona captain’s exclusion from new kit announcement raises eyebrows | OneFootball

Earlier this week, Barcelona officially unveiled the kits for the 2026-27 season with massive media and social media coverage.

The announcement, needless to say, came with visuals and posters of multiple prominent Barcelona players and captains donning the new kit, showing off Nike’s sleek design.

Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Frenkie de Jong, Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Gavi, Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde were some prominent names who featured on the posters, but one player’s absence has left fans asking serious questions.

The captain missing

Indeed, as reported by AS, Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo was nowhere to be seen on the announcement of the new kit which comes as a massive surprise.

Araujo was not featured in Barcelona’s new kit launch. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Other captains including Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Raphinha all featured on the stills, as did other players linked with an exit. For the Uruguayan star to miss out while still being an official captain of the team, needless to say, builds suspicion.

As matters stand, the defender has a contract in place with Barcelona and is under no obligation to leave. Further, he is not said to be even considering leaving the club at this point and wishes to fight for his place.

Yet, there is no denying that his role under Hansi Flick will be very limited, especially with the manager having a clear pecking order with several players ahead of him. Considering a departure, thus, would not be completely unwarranted.

Exit-linked trio feature

While Araujo, who has not been linked actively with any destination this summer, was excluded from the announcement, some of the club’s more actively exit-linked names did feature on the same.

Future uncertain. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Raphinha, who has been linked to Saudi Arabia this summer, is prominently placed on the announcement poster as is Alejandro Balde who has been linked with a move to the Premier League.

In fact, even Kounde,whose future has been in a cloud of doubt, is seen in the new kit.

It thus remains to be seen if the kit announcement poster was indeed a marker of players who are in the club’s plans for next season. If not, Araujo’s absence from the visual would be a real shocker.