If there’s one player it’s warming to feel good for right now then that player is Raphinha.
Ahead of Barcelona’s match against Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening, which was Raphinha’s 100th for Barca, there were multiple articles across the Spanish media accepting that they’d largely been wrong about the Brazilian.
Arriving from Leeds United for around €55m, much of the Spanish media appeared to have it in for the attacker from day one. Ahead of every transfer window he was shopped around for a move, usually to the Premier League, and there was a distinct lack of appreciation.
Raphinha just kept his head down and got on with things. And in that 100th Barcelona appearance last night, he scored a brilliant Champions League hat-trick.
Mundo Deportivo quote the Dutchman as saying: “We spent a significant amount, but two weeks into the Premier League, United spent €100m on an Ajax player and Chelsea spent €100m on a Ukrainian, Mudryk. In the end it was an acceptable price for us.
“He did a very good job at Leeds. Above all because of his ability to work hard, defensively and offensively, in transitions. He is a player who runs much more than what attackers usually do. He helps the team a lot when losing the ball and we are seeing that today. This season he feels liberated.”
Raphinha is now a vice-captain for Barcelona, wore the armband last night, and is very much a man of the moment.
For Leeds United, it’s a nice little endorsement on buying players from the club.
