Barcelona Transfer News: Forward Raphinha has dismissed reports of a move away from Barcelona, which might delay Lionel Messi’s return to Camp Nou
Barcelona Transfer News: Forward Raphinha has dismissed reports of a move away from Barcelona, which might delay Lionel Messi’s return to Camp Nou.
The Argentine is set to leave PSG this summer and rejoin the Catalans, but the club has to clear some salary cap space by trading away certain players first due to financial constraints.
According to a post on the Portuguese football portal Fanaticos Por Futebol, Raphinha was one of the players slated for a move.
Raphinha only scored 10 goals in 45 games after being acquired from Leeds United for £50 million last summer. Of them, seven came in La Liga, where he made 31 appearances.
The 26-year-old was said to be on the chopping block as Barcelona, who are experiencing a financial crisis, want to decrease their pay bill to make room for Messi.
Barcelona Transfer News: Forward Raphinha has dismissed reports of a move away from Barcelona, which might delay Lionel Messi’s return to Camp Nou
However, the club’s hopes of retaining their previous talismanic No. 10 have been thrown into doubt as Raphinha denied any transfer rumours. But now that Messi is free to sign with any team, the Blaugrana will be pulling out all the stops to lure him back to Camp Nou.
Raphinha, a star for Barcelona, has changed his tune in the year 2023. The Brazilian started the season with only two goals and two assists in La Liga, but he has racked up five goals and four assists since the new year.
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As Raphinha has acclimated to life with the Blaugrana, his goal contribution per game has increased from 0.28 to 0.52. He contributed to a 1-0 victory over Valencia, a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao, and an assist for Ferran Torres in a 1-0 victory against Atletico Madrid.
There is no denying the 26-year-old’s growing impact off the bench, which has kept Barcelona in championship contention down the line.
