The weeks follow one another and are similar for Raphinha. More than a year after his arrival at FC Barcelona for €58 million from Leeds, the Brazilian winger still does not convince. Author of 50 matches for his first season (10 goals and 10 assists), he experienced too many irregularities to become an unstoppable Xavi. The departure of Ousmane Dembélé for PSG this summer could have freed him from the weight of competition but his start to the season did not live up to expectations.
And this translates into training and on the field. In 9 La Liga matches played, he only started three matches. It is also the fault of a suspension against Getafe in August and also a muscle injury in October. Since his return from the infirmary a month ago, he has only started one match, against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. That day, Barça lost 1-0 and he only played 59 minutes of play, replaced by Lamine Yamal.
Raphinha never managed to convince Xavi
The competition has benefited others, starting with the young players who have appeared in recent weeks like Fermín López. According to Marca, Xavi is starting to get tired of Raphinha. Formerly wandering between the right side and the left side, the Brazilian “suffered” the arrival of Joao Felix, rather fixed on the left on paper. There is less and less room for him in a squad where the least efficient will necessarily have less playing time. This is the case of the 26-year-old winger.
However, he is still called up by Fernando Diniz with Brazil. The injuries to Vinicius Jr and Neymar also benefit him but time is running out for him, both at club and national level. Already announced as a possible departure candidate last summer, the former Rennais ultimately remained at FC Barcelona. The Culés, still lacking cash, will inevitably ask themselves the question of a sale during the next transfer window. Only Raphinha can convince them otherwise.
