Leeds United star Raphinha has asked his agent Deco to ‘slow down’ a move to Chelsea to give Barcelona a chance to complete a transfer.
That’s according to Sport, who say the forward wants to ‘prioritise’ Barcelona, having made a move to the Camp Nou his first choice option this summer.
The newspaper explains that Raphinha has made a new decision about his future, with Barcelona and Chelsea battling for his signature.
He wants to end up at Barca, but they can’t afford a deal at this moment in time, which has opened the door for Chelsea to get him instead.
They’ve already agreed a deal with Leeds, but Raphinha has now asked his agent to ‘stop’ that transfer for the time being.
It’s his ‘childhood dream’ to play for Barcelona, so he’s decided, for the time being at least, to not enter any kind of wage negotiations with Chelsea.
It means a potential move to Stamford Bridge has been ‘completely defused’, something which has left Chelsea’s hierarchy flummoxed as they did not expect a refusal from the Leeds star.
As he has been doing for months, Raphinha continues to ‘position himself’ for a move to Barcelona and is even trying to prevent the deal from becoming more expensive and turning into an auction.
That’s seen him block all other offers he has received from the Premier League, and Chelsea have now been added to that list. According to the newspaper, only Manchester City haven’t shown an interest from the top six.
Raphinha isn’t interested, though, and his strategy is to ‘exploit all the options’ available to him so he can end up at the Camp Nou
His agent, Deco, has been meeting with Barcelona’s management in the last few days to ‘design the financial strategy’ to make a move possible. The Catalans will then launch a ‘last offensive’ on Leeds.
The player and Deco have a ‘magnificent relationship’ with those in charge at Elland Road, and that harmony could be key to the deal happening.
However, the player’s decision to reject Chelsea is being seen as a warning from him that it will be him who chooses his next destination and not Leeds.
He believes a move to Barcelona is ‘feasible’ and will not accept any ultimatums to force him to move elsewhere.
