WATCH: Raphinha begins to pay off €65m fee with El Clasico wondergoal
Cameron Smith
- 24 Jul 2022 09:37 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona new boy Raphinha has already begun to pay off his huge €65 million transfer fee with two goals in two games for his new club, including a stunner against Real Madrid in Nevada.
The Blaugrana beat Chelsea to the Brazilian's signature earlier this summer, with the player opting to join Barcelona after first rejecting Arsenal and then Thomas Tuchel's side.
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After finally securing his move to Camp Nou, Raphinha has hit the ground running with an immense start to life as a Barcelona player.
He scored on his debut in a 6-0 rout of Inter Miami and backed that up with a wonderstrike against Real Madrid, which sealed a 1-0 victory for Xavi's men.
After possession was lost carelessly by Eder Militao, who sliced a ball straight to Raphinha's feet, the Brazilian took one touch to set himself before firing a powerful effort into the top corner of the Real Madrid net, past the outstretched hand of Thibaut Courtois.
What a goal from Raphinha against Real Madrid 🚀
Already a Barcelona legend 💀 pic.twitter.com/5r11BzzD1g— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 24, 2022
The goal opened the scoring and proved to be the winner in a tight affair between the Spanish top flight's biggest clubs.
Raphinha started alongside La Masia graduate Ansu Fati and fellow new signing Robert Lewandowski, who made his Barcelona debut, in Xavi's front three.
Raphinha at Leeds
Raphinha, 25, joined Leeds from Rennes ahead of the Whites' first season back in the Premier League in 2020, after gaining promotion under the watch of veteran Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa.
The winger had impressed at both Rennes and previously at Sporting but still managed to exceed all expectations in his first campaign at Elland Road, adapting effortlessly to both the demands of the Premier League and Bielsa's all-action tactics.
The 2019-20 season yielded six goals and nine assists in 30 games for the Brazilian, who proved crucial in steering Leeds to a comfortable mid-table finish.
And while the Whites struggled to repeat that feat last term Raphinha once more stood out on an individual level as he contributed 11 goals and three assists to their quest for survival, eventually achieved on the very last day of the season.
His startling progress over the last two years has also been noticed at international level: Raphinha made his Brazil debut in August 2021 and is in the running to earn a World Cup place in a squad packed with elite attacking talent.
