Called up for Brazil’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers, Leeds United star Raphinha will finally have the chance to make his debut for the national team.
He’s been seen as a candidate for the squad for a while, yet has had to wait. His first chance was stopped by the decision from Premier League clubs last month, when they didn’t let players travel to South America. Now he’s already in Colombia training for his first match.
Raphinha’s first call was, of course, celebrated by his friends. Two of them are pretty famous: Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes, and Brazil legend Ronaldinho.
The Red Devils’ midfielder, who played with Raphinha at Sporting, was one of the first to congratulate him for his achievement.
“Bruno congratulated me a lot. He told me that I deserved it so much, that I had been deserving it for a while,” said Raphinha (via ESPN Brasil).
“This happens with friends who talk a lot, more intimacy like that, more jokes. But he praised me a lot, congratulated me. He said he wasn’t surprised at all by what was happening and what would happen. And for me, receiving compliments like that from people I admire, not only professionally but personally, is also very rewarding.”
“And Ronaldinho also sent me a video. I spoke to him on the phone. He ended up calling my dad, we talked a little, he congratulated me too. I ended up being happier than I was already. So receiving praise from great players, great people, is very rewarding for me.”
With Raphinha being linked to Manchester United in the past, there’s no doubt he and Bruno would be happy to play together again some time. Now with their strong friendship revealed, we wouldn’t be surprised to see rumours popping up, taking advantage of that situation.
