Raphinha gives Barcelona 48-hour signing deadline
Stuart Telford
- 10 Jul 2022 09:36 BST
- 3 min read
Raphinha has given Barcelona 48 hours to conclude his transfer from Leeds United, otherwise Chelsea could come back into the frame for the Brazil winger.
Chelsea were Leeds' preferred bidders given their relative financial security and were the first to match Raphinha's £60m/€70.8m asking price, but the winger and his agent Deco had already agreed personal terms with Barcelona in May.
Barcelona have subsequently gone some way to alleviating their financial dire straits, selling off a percentage of their future TV rights, and they have been able to register Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen.
What an attack Barcelona will have next season with Raphinha and Lewandowski 😍 pic.twitter.com/jG14kwdC57
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 2, 2022
Whilst a €70 million fee is at the top-end of their budget - especially with a €50m move for Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski also in the offing - Barca are understood to have matched Chelsea's bid, although they will pay it in instalments.
Raphinha and Deco have given Barcelona and Leeds 48 hours to hash out a deal, otherwise they will return to the Chelsea bid, with Arsenal having dropped out of the race to acquire the 25-year-old.
Leeds are not likely to stand in Raphinha's way regardless of his next destination, having already signed his replacement in Luis Sinisterra from Feyenoord.
'Hopes and dreams'
"We just have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of days,” said Leeds coach Jesse Marsch.
"I know he has hopes and dreams. I know he loves this team and this club and he loves being here. We'll see how things progress day by day.
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"There's urgency from his end, I think, to come up with a solution. We have to in the next couple of days see how things stand and see how we go."
The demand for Raphinha is understandable. The winger contributed 11 goals and three assists for Leeds last season despite the club only finishing four points above the Premier League's relegation places.
Be it Barcelona or Chelsea - one of them will have a special player by the end of the summer transfer window.
