Club captains should lead by example and motivate their teammates on and off the pitch. Over the years, some iconic captains have emerged, with Tony Adams, Vincent Kompany, Steven Gerrard and Francisco Totti all proving themselves to be the right leaders and have a good connection with the club's fans.
It's often a coveted role, and in the world's biggest clubs and national teams, the captain gets glory when he wins, but also bears the brunt of criticism when the team doesn't perform well. For every captain who accepts the role, there are some who can't withstand the pressure and show the extra professionalism required for the job. When things get really bad, the captain's armband may even be removed. We investigated 10 players who had suffered humiliation for being stripped of their captaincy.
Harry Maguire
Ten Hach made many brave and ruthless decisions at Manchester United, such as getting rid of club icons Cristiano Ronaldo and David De Gea. Maguire's captaincy has been threatened since his drop in the rankings last season and Ten Hach has informed the England international that he will no longer be club captain.
William Galas
One of London's least popular footballers, Gallas was surprised to receive the armband of Arsenal captain ahead of Gilberto Silva after Thierry Henry left in 2007. The defender is the third consecutive French Arsenal captain, with Patrick Vieira ahead of Henry, but he lacks the charisma, leadership and football ability of these two idols. He criticised Arsenal's young team-mate in an interview and revealed details of a dressing room fight before being stripped of the position.
John terry
The former Chelsea captain was embroiled in a racial dispute in the months leading up to Euro 2012. Ahead of his trial, the English Football Association stripped him of the honour of leading the national team until charges were resolved, but he was found guilty and would no longer wear the captain's armband. John Terry remains Chelsea captain but retired from the national team after the Euros trial ended and he was found guilty.
Joey Barton
Manchester City's victory over Queens Park Rangers in May 2012 marked one of the most iconic moments in Premier League history: Sergio Aguero's last-minute goal helped the team win the title. But what is often forgotten in the play is Barton's personal attack on Manchester City after being sent off in the second half. Barton was sent off with a straight red card for an inexplicable elbow against Carlos Tevez, and in the ensuing scene, he kicked Aguero and hit Kompany with his head. The player was fined hefty by the club and stripped of his captaincy before being loaned to Marseille, France.
Granit Zaka
Xhaka is the second Arsenal player on this list, having been appointed captain by Unai Emery at the start of the 2019-20 season but stripped of his captaincy just two months later. Xhaka was substituted after a poor performance at home against Crystal Palace and he responded with a gesture to the crowd's booing "Get out of here". Arsenal fans were not happy with this and his captain's armband was taken away and handed over to Aubameyang.
Aubameyang
Aubameyang replaced Xhaka as Arsenal's best player at the time and helped the club win the FA Cup as captain later that season. Aubameyang then signed a lucrative new contract, ending speculation about his future, but things have been going downhill ever since. Subsequent poor performance. Arteta had enough of him, removed him from the squad and relieved him of his duties.
Icardi
The Argentine striker has been a controversial figure at Inter Milan, with whom he initially got into a public feud after initially criticizing the club's extreme fans in a book. His wife and agent, Wanda Icardi, was notoriously difficult to get along with and subsequently engaged in a long argument with fans and the club over transfers and lack of respect. In the end, Inter were unable to cope and Icardi was removed and the armband was handed over to goalkeeper Samir Handanovic in February 2019.
Eto'o
Eto'o, one of Africa's greatest strikers in history, has been controversial since 2010 to succeed Rigbert Song as Cameroon captain. In 2011, Eto'o led a player strike over unpaid wages and was subsequently banned for 15 games by the Cameroon Football Federation. He eventually returned to the team and played in the 2014 World Cup as captain. However, Cameroon reshuffled the team after the World Cup, handing over Eto'o's captain's armband to Mbia, and Eto'o announced his retirement from the national team.