One goal and assist in 14 games - Raphinha a €60m FLOP
Suraj Radia
- Updated: 27 Oct 2022 16:57 BST
- 3 min read
Things have not gone according to plan for Barcelona since their summer spending spree, with the Catalans out of the Champions League and struggling to get the best out of their new arrivals.
Cash-strapped Barca spent more than €200 million in the summer on the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde, but their big money stars could not prevent an early exit in the Champions League after mustering just one win from their five group games so far.
Arguably the most disappointing of the signings has been Raphinha, with the €59m acquisition from Leeds grabbing just one goal and one assist in his first 14 games for the club.
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The Brazilian was considered a priority target for Barca, and they fought off competition from Chelsea and Arsenal to sign him, but they may be regretting their decision due to his underwhelming form.
Crucially too for Raphinha, his poor performances could see him lose his place in both the Barca side and potentially for Brazil due to the high quality of competition in both team’s attacking areas.
With the 25-year-old coming off the bench in his last two games, Raphinha may be on course to become yet another costly flop for Barcelona.
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Despite their poor showing in Europe, Barca are still just three points behind leaders Real Madrid in La Liga, having recently lost to their rivals, but the gap in quality between the sides is certainly far greater.
Raphinha has completed a full 90 minutes just once in his 14 appearances and is on a run of ten games without a goal or an assist, with manager Xavi appearing to run out of patience with the Brazilian.
Ousmane Dembele and Pedri were preferred on the wings for Barca’s most recent La Liga game, with the Frenchman in particular impressing by contributing to all four of his side’s goals in the win over Bilbao.
Ferran Torres also came off the bench to grab a goal, meaning Raphinha could find himself further down the pecking order, having only played 47 minutes in Barca’s last three games.
The irony is that Raphinha was only brought to the club due to the belief that Dembele would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired, but the ex-Dortmund man ended up renewing his deal.
And Dembele’s form is showing that Barcelona may not have needed Raphinha at all – a damning situation considering the club’s financial disarray.
The fact that they may have wasted nearly €60m in trying to beat their rivals to a signing they never needed, only for the team to lose even more money through Champions League failure, is a poetic twist of fate that sums up the mismanagement surrounding Barcelona.
