Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll probably be very aware that Barcelona want to sign Raphinha from Leeds United this summer.
The Brazilian star is reportedly Barcelona’s number one target for the summer window, and, after helping them secure their Premier League status, the winger is pushing for the move to the Camp Nou.
Indeed, yesterday we covered a report from Spain stating that he wants an agreement with Leeds wrapped up by Thursday, meaning the race is on to sort out negotiations.
The big sticking point at the minute is his asking price, which the Spanish media believe would have been €25m had Leeds gone down but is now around the €40m mark.
That’s a price Barcelona simply don’t want, or cannot afford, to pay, and so the clubs will have to work something out in the coming weeks.
Sport cover that today and present the respective positions on the potential deal, stating that the Catalans want to bring the deal closer to the €25m they could have paid.
That’s something, though, that Leeds aren’t interested in, and they’ve made it clear they ‘want a higher fee’ for their star man.
He was instrumental in keeping them in the Premier League, something that saw his €25m release clause go ‘up in smoke’ and his value to rocket.
While Barcelona value him at that price, those in charge at Elland Road ‘want to take advantage’ of the situation and secure a higher amount. In fact, they would be demanding €50m as a starting point.
Barcelona want to pay ‘about half’ that amount, which seems unreasonable to say the least. The only idea of a price around €25m was related to relegation and given that hasn’t happened there’s absolutely no reason for Leeds to bow in front of the Catalan side.
