Barcelona are struggling as a whole this season, in spite of their strong position in both La Liga and the Champions League. Yet as time goes on, individuals will start to come under the microscope too.
One of them is Raphinha. The Brazilian winger arrived from Leeds United two summers ago as Barcelona’s most expensive outlay, but struggled to put his stamp on the right wing, with Xavi Hernandez preferring Ousmane Dembele instead. While he was injured, Raphinha did make a crucial contribution to their La Liga title, but once Dembele was fit again, he appeared to be straight back into the starting spot.
Once the Frenchman had departed for Paris Saint-Germain this summer, the spot on the right looked like Raphinha’s to lose, but a sending off in Barcelona’s first game gave an opportunity to Lamine Yamal, who has been prefereed since. On his return from injury, Xavi has used Joao Cancelo and Lamine Yamal ahead of him, with just one start against Shakhtar Donetsk in four games.
🚨 English clubs like Newcastle and Chelsea are interested in Raphinha, the situation will be studied in the summer. But Deco still believes that Raphinha can be a differential player on the team after recovering from his injury. @sport
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 13, 2023
As per Sport, Raphinha has a question mark against his name. Sporting Director Deco, who used to represent him, is convinced that he will be able to recover his best form and be decisive in the second half of the season. Yet if he cannot win his spot, then Barcelona will consider offers for him next summer.
They believe they can still get good money for the Brazilian. Last summer Newcastle United were interested, as were Saudi Arabia, while he is still on Chelsea’s shortlist should they move for a wide player too.
Ultimately, if Raphinha cannot win a starting spot over the course of two seasons, then Barcelona are all but forced to sell. With resources spread thin, keeping a player of his value on the bench makes little sense with the likes of Lamine Yamal coming through, and Ferran Torres rarely used in his preferred position.
