Barcelona will be mightily relieved that they didn’t sell Raphinha to Newcastle United, with the Brazilian now the shining light for the Catalans.
Sport cover the 27-year-old today after his hattrick in the 4-1 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
They say the forward has gone ‘from being for sale to essential’ and was previously ‘on the market’ for the Catalan club.
According to the newspaper, Barcelona would have been happy to sell Raphinha this summer following an ‘irregular’ two years at the club following his move from Leeds United.
Selling him would have helped to remedy financial problems at the Camp Nou and there was a market for him, particularly in England. Newcastle were heavily linked at the time, with numerous reports from Spain stating they were keen.
For example, it was reported at the beginning of August that they were ‘back in action’ for the forward. That followed numerous reports from the summer of 2023 that had them chasing the Brazilian and Barcelona being keen to sign him.
He wasn’t sold to Newcastle, though, and everyone at Barcelona are now breathing a huge sigh of relief. They have Raphinha to thank for that as he insisted, he was staying and would prove himself.
That’s now happening as he has nine goals and eight assists in 13 games this season including his superb hattrick against Bayern.
He is ‘proving to be a star in all facets’ and Barcelona are the beneficiaries of his ‘explosion’ while Newcastle must be kicking themselves at missing out.
