Why Barcelona are planning two transfer offers for Raphinha
Robin Bairner
- 4 May 2022 14:38 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona are ready to step up their interest in Leeds and Brazil winger Raphinha.
The South American has long been associated with a possible move to Camp Nou, though FootballTransfers reported previously that Chelsea were frontrunners for his signature.
Since then, the goalposts have moved. The Blues’ future has been thrown into doubt because of Roman Abramovich’s assets being frozen, which is turn has created an ownership vacuum at the club that it may well take weeks to fill.
With Chelsea foundering, Barcelona are set to take advantage of their weakness and move for the 25-year-old.
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Barcelona desperate for Raphinha
It is reported by the Telegraph that the Spanish side are formulating two different deals in order to get a transfer over the line with Leeds.
Raphinha has a relegation release clause of £25 million but Barcelona will not wait around to trigger that. Instead, they will seek to get a jump on their rivals by offering more than that immediately to open talks with the attacker.
Leeds are presently 17th in the standings, just two points clear of Everton, though the Toffees do have a game in hand.
Should the Elland Road club escape relegation, though, Barcelona will come back with a new formula for the Premier League outfit to consider.
Leeds initially signed the player from Rennes in the summer of 2020 for around £17m, and he has since gone on to play 63 times for the club in all competitions, scoring 16 goals and creating a further 12.
Barca are thought to stand a good chance of landing the player as he is represented by Deco, a former player at Camp Nou, whose relationship with the decision makers at the club is thought to be on a strong footing.
