Barcelona face big challenge in Raphinha transfer

Martin Macdonald

24 Mar 2022 12:37 CDT
3 min read

Leeds United winger Raphinha has emerged as a transfer target for Barcelona this summer, but the Blaugrana are worried about their ability to meet the player's asking price.

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The Brazilian will be at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war this summer, with Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Chelsea all linked with an interest, as well as the aforementioned Barcelona.

Raphinha signed for Leeds two summers ago and was a revelation in his first season, with six goals scored and nine assists recorded in the Premier League.

Those stats have been turned on their head in the current campaign, as his goalscoring is performing better than his goal-making, with nine goals scored to three assists.

In the January transfer window, he was the subject of interest from West Ham, but Leeds kept their player to aid their fight against relegation.

Raphinha wants to move this summer in order to boost his chances of being named in the Brazil squad for the 2022 World Cup.

How much would Raphinha cost?

According to reports, Raphinha has a release clause of €71 million that can be triggered if Leeds stay in the Premier League. If they are relegated, which is currently looking unlikely, then he would be available for €30m.

Barcelona are not in a great state financially but still managed to sign a flurry of players in January including Ferran Torres for €55m.

They hope to raise funds by selling the likes of Philippe Coutinho, but they will likely look at other targets like Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski before Raphinha becomes a priority.

FootballTransfers values the winger at €24m.

FootballTransfers' transfer valuations are calculated in collaboration with SciSports, a world-leading football analytics agency that assesses the relative transfer valuations of over 60,000 professional footballers worldwide.

SciSports use multiple data points including current and potential ability, contract length, form, age, and other crucial factors.