Things can happen quickly in football – even a bit faster in a club like FC Barcelona. Winger Raphinha (26) joined the Blaugrana from Leeds United for a fee of around 60 million euros and has signed a contract until 2027. Barça have not paid more money for any other player this season. However, the Brazilian was not given any time.
After Raphinha’s mixed first few months, the usual game began: the media was already speculating about a speedy return of the World Cup driver to England. The Catalans are said to have held transfer talks with Arsenal. As is well known, nothing came of a change – Raphinha is still there and has now been able to look forward to a pledge of loyalty from his coach.
Goal scorer against Betis
“We will always support Raphinha – he is the future of Barcelona”Xavi’s unequivocal words after the 2-1 away win against Betis Sevilla, “he gets criticized but he achieves a lot and we appreciate him a lot.” A quote that the ex-professional must have said easily, because Raphinha showed a strong performance against the Andalusians, including goals to make it 1-0 in the meantime.
The 26-year-old from Porto Alegre now has five goals and seven assists in all competitions. Neat, but more can come from a player of this quality – not only in the form of scorer points. One thing is clear: if Raphinha’s upswing doesn’t continue, the rumors of a change will boil up again in the course of the second half of the season.
