Raphinha declined to discuss Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, despite scoring twice and being named player of the match at Camp Nou.
The Brazil forward struck two goals as Barcelona secured an important win in Tuesday evening’s Champions League league-phase fixture, the fourth round of the competition.
However, Raphinha chose not to focus on his performance or his side’s result after the final whistle. Instead, the Barcelona captain used his interview with Movistar to send a message of support to the family of Jesus de Miguel, the Tenerife player who died only hours before the match.
Appearing visibly affected, Raphinha said the circumstances made it inappropriate to celebrate or concentrate on football while the Spanish football community was mourning.
“I do not want to talk about football. I want to send all my support and strength to Jesus’ family, and I hope he rests in peace. Today is not the right day to talk about football,” Raphinha said, in comments reported by Spanish newspaper Marca.
He also described the emotional difficulty of playing the match after learning of the death.
“This could happen to anyone. It is extremely hard, especially after we received the news,” he said.
“It is difficult to go out and play a match in circumstances like these, because it could happen to you or to anyone close to you. Today is not the right day to talk about football.”
Raphinha’s two goals nevertheless gave him a place in Barcelona’s history. He became the club’s highest-scoring Brazilian player in the Champions League, moving ahead of former Barcelona greats Neymar and Rivaldo.
His goals helped Barcelona claim a convincing victory against Aston Villa, but the forward’s post-match comments were dominated by his tribute to Jesus de Miguel and his family rather than his own achievement.
