Raphinha was the talk of the summer transfer window for a long period of time.
The Leeds United forward was tipped with a move away from Elland Road the moment the 2021/22 Premier League season ended and he had no shortage of suitors. London clubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham were all credited with an interest, with the Gunners and the Blues heading the race for his signature at various moments.
Raphinha always had his heart set on a move to Barcelona, although a deal looked complicated, with the Catalan giants struggling financially. That left the door open for the London duo to make their moves, with Chelsea seeing a £55million bid for the Brazilian accepted by Leeds.
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But once Barcelona got their finances in some sort of order they were able to agree on a £49million deal with Leeds United to take the Brazilian to the Camp Nou. Speaking about his move to Spain, Raphinha said: "This is a dream come true for me, not just for me also my friends and family. They’ve seen me playing since I was a kid. They knew this was a dream of mine to come here. All I can do now is give my best and try to help Barca be what it’s always been."
And, as expected, the 25-year-old has already started repaying that fee before the season has even begun - and shown Arsenal and Chelsea what they missed out on. Barcelona took on fierce rivals Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly during both teams' tours of America in the early hours of Sunday morning.
And Raphinha was the match-winner in stunning circumstances. Picking up on a loose clearance on the right hand edge of the 18-yard box, the former Leeds man controlled the ball and fired an unstoppable left-foot effort into the top corner of the Real net. That was his second goal of pre-season having scored in the 6-0 demolition of Inter Miami before that.
Arsenal have not been short of goals in pre-season, having signed Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City, but while Chelsea signed Raheem Sterling, a 4-0 defeat to the Gunners in their final pre-season clash and three goals in their three matches in America suggests missing out on Raphinha could have been costly.
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