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FC Barcelona rejected a $75 million bid for Raphinha, according to reports.
FC Barcelona have rejected a €70mn ($75mn) bid for winger Raphinha, according to a report.
The Brazilian joined Barca from Leeds United in the summer for a fee believed to be €58mn ($61.5mn) plus €7mn ($7.5mn) in variables.
The Yorkshire club allegedly initially accepted a £55mn ($66.3mn) bid from Chelsea, but Raphinha dug in and waited for Barca to activate ‘economic leverage’ which made his dream move possible. transfer.
Around the same time, however, Arsenal were also in the race. According to SPORTThe north Londoners made a €70m ($75m) bid for Raphinha in the recently concluded winter transfer window, which the Catalans rejected.
If accurate, this news shows that there is still a market for Raphinha in the Premier League despite his mixed success at Camp Nou so far.
The 26-year-old started well enough at Blaugrana, but then suffered a drop in form and respect from Cullers despite putting in goals and helps the numbers most players would recommend.
In Xavi’s re-purposing of a system of four midfielders, there is only room for one pure winger, that of Ousmane Dembele.
However, when the Frenchman suffered a thigh injury at Girona in January, this paved the way for the number ’22’ to play his part.
Raphinha responded to the challenge by scoring three crucial goals and two important assists in February alone. This account includes the equalizer in last week’s thrilling 2-2 draw, meaning Barca will go into their Europa League play-off final against Manchester United on Thursday all square and with everything to play for.
However, despite his impressive display in the first meeting, where he also set up Marcos Alonso for his side’s opener, Raphinha could still be dropped at Old Trafford in favor of the MVP in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Cadiz, Ferran Torres .
This shows just how delicate his lot in La Liga is, and should he be sidelined again when Dembele returns to action in March, Barca may entertain offers coming in for a move for Raphinha in the know that they probably need to make a major player before 2022 / 2023 to balance the Financial Fair Play.
Xavi has continued to support his player, even when he threw an extremely substitute tantrum at United’s impasse. But there are reports that the club have informed their agent Deco that Raphinha must improve or his situation will be reviewed at the end of the season which is likely to end with a La Liga winners’ medal.
