Barcelona legend Ronaldinho wants Raphinha at Camp Nou
Martin Macdonald
- 6 Apr 2022 13:21 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona legend Ronaldinho hopes compatriot Raphinha completes a transfer from Leeds United this summer.
Raphina 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.
The Brazilian signed for Leeds two summers ago and was a revelation in his first campaign, with six goals scored and nine assists recorded in the Premier League.
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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.
Barca will struggle to pay a big transfer fee unless they sell on a number of players.
However, Ronaldinho hopes the club pull the trigger on a deal.
Ronaldinho told Sport : “I would very much like him to come [to Barcelona]. He has a lot of quality, he would fit in very well with Spanish football due to his playing characteristics.”
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.
