If Raphinha was hoping that his move to Barcelona from Leeds United in July 2022 would be the crowning moment of his career, it seems he was sadly mistaken.
The Brazilian was the undisputed star of the show at Elland Road but has failed to replicate that at the Camp Nou, never fully settling or establishing him under Xavi.
Sport look at him today and explain that ‘patience is running out’ for the winger, who is ‘still not a differential’ and could be put up for sale in June.
The newspaper explains that Barcelona had hoped this would be Raphinha’s year but that has not proven to be the case, despite being an undisputed starter under Xavi for most of the campaign.
If that does not happen in the coming months, the club could put him on the market next summer and look to recover the investment they made to sign him from Leeds 18 months ago as well as open up space in their wage budget.
The fact is that Raphinha is not having a good season and Barcelona are beginning to notice it, with a growing belief that he has failed to take advantage of Ousmane Dembélé’s departure in the summer.
Sporting director Deco, who was also his agent, had endorsed the winger and backed him to shine, believing that after a year of acclimatising he ‘would end up exploding’ this season. That’s not happened and now there is concern about him given they paid €58m to sign him from Leeds.
It’s the latest downward trend on something of a roller coaster ride for the player since his departure from Elland Road, which has so far not worked out well for anyone.
