Barcelona have reached an agreement with Leeds United for the transfer of winger Raphael Raphinha, “pending the player passing his medical.”
Raphinha, as he’s popularly known, is set to sign the contract until June 2027 with the Spanish giants.
His first club in Europe was Portuguese side Vitòria Guimaraes, from where he moved on to Sporting Clube and later Rennes before joining Leeds.
In his first season for Leeds, Raphina made 30 appearances, scoring six goals and providing nine assists in the process.
Last season, in a struggling Leeds outfit, the Brazilian found the back of the net on 11 occasions and weighed in with three assists to help the side club side survive the chop.
The 25-year-old footballer is described as someone who is excellent in one on ones, with taking on defenders a key part of his game and also a dead ball specialist. The accuracy of his left foot makes him a very dangerous player on both free kicks and on the edge of the area from corners.
His natural tendency is to always try to get closer to the goal to provide an accurate cross for an assist or get a shot in on goal, precisely how most of his goals and assists have come to date.
He received his first call-up for the Brazilian national team last year August for the triple header of 2022 World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and made his debut for the country on 7 October against Venezuela where he was involved in two of the three goals.
Raphinha is joining Barca in a rich vein of form after his best season in terms of stats and quality. This move is seen as his biggest dream.
Meanwhile, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano stated that Xavi’s side is now pushing on Robert Lewandowski and feeling confident. Key days ahead.
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