Former Leeds United full-back Danny Mills has labelled Barcelona’s move for Raphinha as “bizarre”, with the club still battling financial issues. The Catalan giants have agreed to a deal with Leeds, and the Brazilian is set to undergo a medical as per an official statement from the Whites.
In two seasons at Elland Road, Raphinha played in 65 Premier League games, scoring 17 goals and providing 12 assists, and was crucial to the Whites securing Premier League survival on the final day of last season. He is now within touching distance of his dream move to Camp Nou.
However, the issue remains as to whether Barcelona will be able to clear salary space to ensure Raphinha can be registered for next season. According to La Liga rules, they need to recoup €3 for every €1 spent on player wages in order to bring in a new player.
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This issue does not seem to have deterred the Spanish club, who have agreed on a deal for Raphinha that could rise £54.7m with add-ons while pursuing other high-profile targets such as Robert Lewandowski, who will not come cheaply in terms of salary costs.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Mills, who made over 100 appearances for Leeds during their previous spell in the Premier League, was in disbelief over the fact that Barca have been able to make the deal happen.
“They’re skint,” exclaimed Mills. “They can’t register players because of the financial issues that they’ve got, but they’re still buying players for ridiculous amounts of money. Clearly, Raphinha wanted to go there and had his heart set on a move to Barcelona.
“There was interest from other clubs, but that seems to have waned, so what happens if this move falls through, which it might easily happen. You need to check the colour of the money; it’s almost like Barca are buying people with Monopoly money.”
Leeds manager Jesse Marsch also offered his thoughts with the deal close to completion, expressing his gratitude to the Brazilian for his efforts in helping keep the club up last season.
The American coach said: “If you think about a young man who was guaranteed to leave on a reduced transfer fee to Barcelona if we were relegated and then look at the performances he put in and the commitment he had to make sure the club stayed up.
"I think it would be difficult for anyone in his position to perform the way he did As much as it's hard to see him leave, I'm hopeful for him to get this deal done, as I know it's his dream to play for Barcelona."
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