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Raphinha hits out at reports of Barcelona exit.
Barcelona winger Raphinha has refuted claims that he has authorized the team to begin accepting bids for him during the forthcoming summer transfer window.
Raphinha moved from Leeds to Barcelona last summer in a deal worth up to £55 million. The Brazilian’s season got off to a rocky start as he was in and out of the starting lineup and had trouble scoring and providing assists.
Although he only made four direct goal contributions in his first 15 La Liga appearances, he has found his groove after 2022 became 2023.
However, with plans to re-sign Lionel Messi, Barcelona’s continued financial issues will necessitate player sales once more in order to earn money for the upcoming season.
According to reports, Ansu Fati has already been informed that he may depart.
There won’t be a scarcity of people interested in Raphinha. After losing out to Chelsea for Mykhailo Mudryk, Arsenal pursued the 26-year-old last summer as he was about to leave Leeds. In January, they even got in touch with Barcelona about both him and Ferran Torres.
Both players continue to draw interest from north London, with 90min claiming only last week that Arsenal is still intent to buy a right winger as part of a focused bigger recruiting push in preparation for their first Champions League appearance in six seasons next season.
A list of Gunner’s targets includes Moussa Diaby of Bayer Leverkusen, Raphinha, and Torres. Wilfried Zaha, a future free agency, is currently another possibility as a backup.
But Raphinha has responded angrily to a post by Fanaticos Por Futebol on Instagram that claimed he has said ‘OK’ to Barcelona listening to offers. The post specifically referenced Chelsea and Newcastle and appeared to have twisted a report originally published by SPORT.
“This is a lie and whoever said that is a liar, uninformed and unprofessional,” he directly replied.
It makes sense why Raphinha is so determined to stay in Barcelona. He was holding out for a transfer to Camp Nou in July, as reported, even though Chelsea and Leeds had already agreed on a price. Given that Deco, a former player for Porto, Barcelona, and Chelsea, as well as his agent, were both interested in moving to Catalonia, it is instructive that the Blues were unable to reach a personal agreement.