Raphinha’s dream move to Barcelona is now imminent after Leeds United confirmed an agreement had been reached between the two clubs. The Brazilian has already flown over to Spain to undertake his medical and sign the personal terms that have been agreed for months.
The Camp Nou has long been the 25-year-old’s preferred destination, to the point where he and his agent Deco were delaying talks with Chelsea after the Premier League outfit had a £60million bid accepted - their insistence on a move to Spain forced Leeds to accept a slightly lower fee in order to move on from the saga.
Player, agent and club have reportedly been in touch for some time, with Barcelona hoping the Whites would be relegated, thus activating a £25million release clause in their talisman’s contract. But while there were murmurs that Raphinha’s commitment had dipped, potentially in a bid to activate said clause, his performances proved reality was anything but - and the stats back that up.
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Throughout last season, the Whites winger was one of only two players in the Premier League - alongside Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva - to create more than 50 chances, complete more than 50 take-ons and make more than 50 tackles, highlighting not just the Brazilian’s magic in possession but his commitment out of it.
In those last weeks of the relegation run-in, it was Raphinha so often carrying the attacking burden of the side and chasing everything down to help Leeds survive. It was his skill and composure that set up Joe Gelhardt’s winner against Norwich, it was his penalty that opened the scoring on the final day against Brentford and it was him in the stands after the game enjoying the relief of survival alongside the travelling support.
Speaking on Wednesday, Whites boss Jesse Marsch said as such, admitting how tough it is to lose such an important player but praising his player’s effort, when relegation would have meant an easy exit.
“As much as it's really hard to lose him, if you think about a young man who was pretty much guaranteed to go on a reduced transfer fee to Barcelona if we were relegated,” Marsch said. “But then you watch the performances he gave and how committed he was to helping the club stay up, I think it would be hard for anyone of that age to perform the way that he did.”
At no point during the final months and weeks of the season did Raphinha’s commitment dip, and in moments where some players may have closed ranks and waited for the season to end before moving on, the Leeds winger stepped up and so often provided the difference that ended in survival.
He now has his dream move to Barcelona on the horizon, and will be remembered in West Yorkshire for all the right reasons - not least his unwavering commitment.
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