Winners and losers of Raphinha joining Barcelona

Updated: 13 Jul 2022 12:49 BST
4 min read

Barcelona have announced an agreement in principle with Leeds United that will see winger Raphinha move to Camp Nou imminently.

Raphinha is set to sign a five-year deal with the club, with president Joan Laporta confirming that the transfer should be sealed this week after the announcement was published via that club's official website.

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After Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, Raphinha is Barcelona's third major signing of the summer - but the first to arrive for a fee. It is reported that he will cost a bumper €66 million, including a £58m transfer fee, with the rest to follow in bonuses.

So, who are the winners and losers of the 25-year-old's move to Camp Nou?

Winner - Raphinha

Well, the first winner of the move is unsurprisingly Raphinha. The Brazilian has been the standout figure for Leeds since arriving in Yorkshire, and will finally be given the chance to test himself at an elite club.

He showed signs of real encouragement at Rennes, and this continued at Elland Road, but now comes the real test.

Playing Champions League football will no doubt be a goal ticked off, and he'll form part of a team capable of challenging for trophies on four different fronts.

It will require an adaption period away from being the main man, but Raphinha will benefit hugely from the step up.

© ProShots - Raphinha scored 11 Premier League goals last season

Loser - Chelsea

Again, it comes as no surprise that the biggest loser of this transfer saga is Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea.

The Blues, under new American ownership, were looking to make Raphinha the first signing of the post-Roman Abramovich era.

Tuchel's side need attacking reinforcements, with Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech likely to follow Romelu Lukaku out of the club.

And, Raphinha would have been an excellent addition, particularly given his experience of the Premier League.

It seems, however, Raheem Sterling is on his way.

Winner - Daniel James

With Raphinha moving on, it will allow Daniel James to finally feature regularly as a winger at Leeds.

Due to injury problems for Patrick Bamford and the form of Raphinha and Jack Harrison, James played a vast number of minutes through the middle last season.

That doesn't suit his skill set, and with Raphinha moving on, he can slot nicely into the position the Brazilian played.

New signing Brendon Aaronson is expected to play behind a striker, rather than as a direct replacement for Raphinha, allowing James the opportunity to shine off the right.

© ProShots - Dan James joined Leeds from Man Utd last summer

Loser - Jesse Marsch

While James will benefit from his team-mate's exit, his manager certainly will not. Even with Raphinha's brilliance last year, Leeds only scraped survival on the final day of the season, and without the Brazilian, staying up will be even trickier.

With Kalvin Phillips also departing, it will heap the pressure on Jesse Marsch to keep them up, but he may not have the talent to do so.

The Elland Road side won't be able to rely on a moment of magic from Raphinha next year, and that could prove very problematic for Marsch.

Winner - Xavi

Xavi is the man tasked with overseeing a major rebuild at Barcelona, in the hopes of returning them to the glory days of the past.

The squad the Spaniard inherited last season was sub-par to say the least, but with the additions of Raphinha, Christensen and Kessie, the future is bright at Camp Nou.

Robert Lewandowski is also set to join, meaning Xavi will have a plethora of attacking options to choose from next season.