It is audacious to assume that a club would part ways with a player who made 14 goal contributions in La Liga over the past season, let alone in his first year at the club.
Yet, such is the situation at FC Barcelona. The Catalans are under a mountain of pressure to offload players this summer and have no choice but to take such harsh decisions.
Raphinha was stellar for Xavi Hernandez’s side in his first season in Spain and was the reason behind so many match-winning goals that eventually led the team to the title. This month, he could be on his way out of the club.
According to reports from SPORT, Newcastle United and Bayern Munich are still interested in the Brazilian international. The English side, who have qualified for next season’s UEFA Champions League, are leading the race.
Newcastle have enquired about the winger’s availability several times over the past month, but Barcelona stalled the talks and asked for time hoping to facilitate other transfers.
Complications in Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres and Franck Kessie’s moves, however, have reopened the door for the Premier League side. After all, Barcelona need to make sales of at least €100 million over the next three weeks and the Brazilian is one of their highest-rated players.
Joan Laporta, in theory, is willing to sanction Raphinha’s sale if an offer over €80 million arrives for it would assure a profit.
Xavi Hernandez wants to continue working with the winger, especially given that Lionel Messi’s arrival did not materialise. Raphinha, for his part, has no intention of leaving either and it will be up to both Newcastle United and the Barcelona administration to convince him.
