Raphinha posed with the same gesture that Ronaldinho, Neymar and Piqué did in the official team photo.
At the Tito Vilanova Field in the Ciutat Esportiva, before the training session to prepare for the match against Mallorca, Barça held their official team photo for the 2023-2024 season on Wednesday, March 6th. The novelty was the presence of Vitor Roque, the Brazilian forward who joined the club in this winter transfer window, and some academy players. Players and coaches posed with President Joan Laporta in an image that has become a classic year after year.
The behind-the-scenes video of the team photo with the official gear showed the good vibes and camaraderie among the players. Injured players Pedri and Frenkie de Jong were also present, the Dutchman supported by crutches and wearing sports shoes. The coaching staff also posed smiling, with Xavi Hernández at the forefront. Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Marc Guiu, and Héctor Fort, who have been prominently featured, as well as Marc Casadó, Diego Kochen, and Ander Astralaga, also appeared in the photo. And once again, the photo had its anecdote. All players appeared in the image with their arms wide open except for Raphinha.
The image brought to mind similar episodes with other players, such as Ronaldinho, Neymar, and Piqué on two occasions in the past. There’s a similar image of Puyol in the 2010-2011 season, but it’s before the official photo. And there’s another curious one where Luis Suárez appears scolding Neymar’s gesture. Alves was also tempted to do the same. According to Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo, there’s no clear explanation for its significance other than its repetition. “Some traditions never change,” the club jokes. The history of this gesture goes way back. The first to do it was Ronaldinho at Camp Nou in the 2005-2006 season.
Later, in the 2014-2015 season, Neymar repeated it. The third time was Piqué, who didn’t hold back when posing in the photo for his last season in 2022-2023 and before in 2016-2017. In his case, the last one could have been a nod to Neymar himself.
