The culé club makes the deal with Leeds official and the Brazilian winger could be presented on Friday
Raphinha is already a new player for Barcelona. The Brazilian winger will be culé until June 30, 2027, after the Catalan entity made official this Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with Leeds for a lump sum of €58 million and nine more ‘kilos’ in variables. The player will land in Barcelona this Wednesday to undergo a medical, will be presented on Friday and join Xavi Hernández for the preseason. The idea of the azulgranas is that it could be available for the team’s tour in the United States this Saturday.
“We have spoken with Leeds, but we have also done that personally with the footballer and we know that he would like to come to Barcelona,” said Joan Laporta at the presentation of Franck Kessié at the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper on July 2. That’s what the top president clung to during the long negotiations over Raphinha and that’s what ultimately made the Catalans wince against other proposals like Chelsea or Arsenal. The Brazilian winger wanted at all costs to reach Barca, play in the League and make a change of scenery that would lead him to the project Xavi is leading in Barcelona. A position that has finally had an effect.
And it is that the negotiations between Barca and Leeds have not been easy at all. The England team initially slammed the door to spark interest from the culé club, then stood out with claims that could only be taken up by the blaugranas if the already known economic levers were activated. That was when Mateu Alemany had the patience to convince the player to wait until the first sale of 10% of the television rights to Sixth Street was completed and a full agreement reached for the remaining 15%. At that time, Barça already launched the final proposal, that of 58 million fixed euros and nine more in variables. An offer that this time convinced Leeds and rewarded a Raphinha who by then had already let the Chelsea and Arsenal trains through.
The deal puts an end to one of Barcelona’s most ambitious goals in this transfer market. Raphinha was a key player for Marcelo Bielsa last season, even finishing the season with 11 goals and three assists in the 36 games he played between the Premier League and the FA Cup. European football and neither for Tite, who made his debut with the ‘seleçao’ on August 13, 2021 and then made him a fixture in the team that won the ticket to the Qatar World Cup, which takes place from November next month.
With Raphinha, Barcelona sign a versatile player, who usually plays on the far right, but who has the ability to team up with the rest of his team-mates while also being one-on-one to destabilize rival teams. This quality was crucial for a Xavi who is convinced that he will be able to exploit all the virtues of the Brazilian and fit him into a squad that already has players with similar profiles on the wings, such as Ousmane Dembélé, Ferran Torres or even Ansu Fati , a footballer who could act as a midfielder or a false 9 in case Robert Lewandowski didn’t arrive in the end.
Raphinha adds to all that and also has another fundamental quality for Xavi since he came on the culé bench in November. Tarrasa’s coach wants the players in the second row to pose a threat to the opposing team’s goal. For example, he made it known to Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, two footballers who took a step forward in the second half of last season, and that’s something the new signing from Barca can bring him. Raphinha is a menace from the inside out and a player who arrives with the idea of giving Barcelona a quality leap ahead of the rival goal.
Minutes after confirming the existence of an agreement in principle with Leeds for the signing of Raphinha, Barça announced Francisco Trincao’s transfer to Sporting de Portugal. The Portuguese midfielder, for whom Barca paid €31 million to Braga two years ago, is returning to his home country after being loaned out to Wolverhampton last season, where he played 30 games, scored three goals and handed out an attendance sheet.
Trincao’s loan will be extended until June 30, 2023 and Sporting de Portugal will have a purchase option at the end.
Source: La Verdad
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