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Media reports suggest that Barcelona are close to agreeing a deal with Leeds to sign Brazilian international winger Raphinha. An initial fee of around £49million plus possible add-ons of a further £ 9 million has reportedly been agreed.
The exit of Raphinha this summer will come as little surprise to most Leeds fans. The 25-year-old has impressed in his two seasons in the Premier League for the Yorkshire outfit.
“Hello, Culers! This is Raphinha and I’m in Barcelona!” pic.twitter.com/qIZUMidyn1
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 13, 2022
Last season he scored 11 goals and produced three assists to help Jesse Marsch’s team beat the drop.
His performances were always likely to attract admiring glances from elsewhere. As it seems, many of Europe’s major clubs were eying up a move for the winger. The Blaugrana look to have beaten Chelsea to the signing of Raphinha.
The Blues were set to tie up the winger’s signing, only for Barcelona to hijack the deal.
The Catalan giants spending any money seems rather strange considering that they are in severe financial trouble, as they are reportedly in £1.2billion’s worth of debt.
The club’s hierarchy has brought in money from selling a percentage of their tv rights to the US investment group Sixth Street.
Several players are also likely to leave this summer, as Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay, Oscar Mingueza and Samuel Umtiti have all been linked with summer exits. Any summer exits will help fund the deal for Raphinha.
The move is a reward for the Brazilian’s performances for Leeds over the last few seasons.
He will now have the chance to play for one of the biggest football clubs in the world and play Champions League football in the new season.
He will team up with the likes of Ferran Torres, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ansu Fati, which is undoubtedly a mouth-watering prospect for Barcelona fans in the new campaign.
