Barcelona winger Raphinha has revealed he nearly joined Manchester United from Leeds United, rather than the Catalan giants, and that he quite likes Arsenal.
The Brazilian has appeared in a video alongside TikToker Adri Contreras answering quick fire questions about football and life in general.
That saw him asked various questions about Barcelona, who he joined in a €58m deal from Leeds in July 2022 after two years at Elland Road, and clubs outside of them too.
One of the questions was to name ‘any team you were close to playing for’, and the former Leeds man didn’t hesitate, immediately naming Manchester United.
That’s rather interesting as throughout the summer of 2022 Manchester United had been linked with a move for the Brazilian, with their interest seeming to eventually spark Barcelona into action and signing him from Leeds.
At no point in the whole saga was it really claimed that the winger was close to moving to Old Trafford but, it seems at least according to him, that was a distinct possibility.
It never ended up happening of course and he went to the Camp Nou and Manchester United got Antony, although it’s debatable if either move has actually worked out for the parties involved.
Elsewhere in the video, the winger also reveals that he quite likes Arsenal. A later question posed to him is to name ‘a team outside of Spain that you like?’ and again he immediately responds, naming the Gunners.
That should make ears prick up slightly at the Emirates as, like United, Arsenal found themselves linked to Raphinha on a few occasions while he was still at Leeds.
They never made a definitive move for him; indeed, it was rivals Chelsea who really tried to take him to London, but it appears that if they had bothered, they might have discovered a mutual liking.
Perhaps that is something for Arsenal to look into in future, particularly with the Catalan media continuing to insist Raphinha could be sold this summer if he doesn’t impress in the coming months.
