Barcelona president Joan Laporta has dealt Arsenal and Chelsea a bitter blow by confirming that transfer target Raphinha does indeed want to sign for the La Liga giants.
The 25-year-old has long been touted to be one of Barcelona's marquee signings this summer, but the surprise news that Chelsea had agreed £55million a deal with Leeds United earlier this week plunged the Blaugrana's plans into uncertainty - or so it seemed. Despite Arsenal also being keen to bring Raphinha in, Laporta has now claimed that the Brazilian is still committed to joining his club as previously reported.
"Raphinha wants to come at Barca," the Camp Nou president declared. "We have communication and have spoken with Leeds. What's there is that there are other clubs that want Raphinha and are making their proposals."
While it is widely accepted that Raphinha's time at Elland Road will come to an end after two tumultuous seasons in which he has proven himself to be one of the most exciting wingers in the Premier League, the former Rennes star could yet stay in Yorkshire for another year in order to ensure that Catunlya is his next destination.
According to ESPN, Raphinha's agent, Deco, has been in the city this week for talks with Barcelona, who have offered £43m plus add-ons - considerably below Leeds' £60m asking price. With personal terms already agreed on a five-year contract, however, the player is prepared to wait for the cash-strapped Blaugrana to remedy their financial predicament and join them in January 2023 or even next summer.
While Barcelona's latest bid would have to be paid in instalments, Chelsea are happy to pay a higher percentage of the fee up front, which is believed to be Leeds' preference for the transfer. However, while the two clubs have agreed a deal, Raphinha only wants to make his dream switch to Catalunya. Arsenal, it seems, are a distant third in the running.
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Debt-ridden Barca recently sold 10 per cent of their rights to Sixth Street for €207.5m (£179m) in a desperate bid to ensure that the club did not land further financial sanctions, with deals to sign free agents Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen still not finalised.
Barcelona fans will at least be encouraged to hear that Leeds sporting director Victor Orta has compared Raphinha to ex-Blaugrana star Neymar - but the Elland Road ace "defends much more."
Speaking to Cope about the Brazil winger, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Orta said: "He's good. He has good legs, physically very good, works a lot off the ball. He is an exciting player, and then going forward, he can take on players, get away from players, he's difficult to play against.
"He's one of the guys who runs the most in the league. He's a special player, he's got similarities to Neymar. He plays well on the wing but runs back much more than Neymar, he defends much more than Neymar."
