The long-standing saga linking Leeds United star Raphinha with a move to Spanish giants Barcelona has, on Friday, finally reached a conclusion.
The name of wide-man Raphinha has, of course, taken its place front and centre in the football headlines for several weeks now.
This comes with the Brazilian international having attracted the interest of not only the heavyweights of the Premier League, but European football as a whole.
All of Arsenal, Chelsea and the aforementioned Barca made clear their intent to add Raphinha to their ranks ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, giving rise to quite the transfer saga.
It was the latter, though, who in truth boasted the advantage throughout, owing to the will of the player himself to take his talents to the Camp Nou.
And now, as alluded to above, such efforts on the part of Raphinha and the Blaugrana alike have borne fruit.
After the explosive attacker was spotted in Catalunya earlier this week, he has today been officially unveiled as the latest addition to the head-turning frontline overseen by Xavi Hernandez in Barcelona:
DONE DEAL ✍️✅@JoanLaportaFCB ?Raphinha pic.twitter.com/Rq0nYs80KD
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 15, 2022
Leeds, meanwhile, have too announced the departure of their star man, taking to the club’s official website and social media platforms to confirm:
‘Leeds United can confirm Raphinha has today completed a transfer to FC Barcelona for an undisclosed fee.’
Leeds United can confirm Raphinha has today completed a transfer to FC Barcelona for an undisclosed fee.
— Leeds United (@LUFC) July 15, 2022
Though no fee has been announced on the part of either club, it is understood that the deal has set Barcelona back a sum in the region of €58 million fixed, with the potential to rise to €68 million when add-ons are taken into account.
Raphinha, for his part, has put pen to paper on a contract through 2027, featuring a release clause set at a whopping €1 billion.
Barcelona take major step forward for Robert Lewandowski
Barcelona agree ‘less than 80m euro’ deal for Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva
