Why Raphinha turned down £150 million Saudi Arabia offer in 2024

Martin Macdonald

• 15 Oct 2025 08:02 CDT
• 2 min read

News

Raphinha has revealed why he turned down a mega-money offer from the Saudi Pro League in 2024.

Barcelona's finances have been in turmoil for years now and two summers ago they were prepared to cash-in on the Brazilian after Al-Hilal made a bid worth €100m (£87m) for the player's services.

It would have seen Raphinha earn €170m (£150m) over a four-year contract to play in Saudi Arabia.

After a less-than-spectacular season previous to the offer, he admits he did consider leaving Barcelona.

"I was thinking about leaving Barca after the 2024 Copa America," he said in March.

“I wasn’t feeling mentally comfortable until Flick called me. Every day, there were rumours about me signing for one team or another. Things didn’t go as they should have; I had a worse season than expected, and I saw people asking me to leave while reports of my departure surfaced daily. I seriously considered leaving."

Raphinha has explained that it was a call with head coach Hansi Flick that convinced him to stay at Camp Nou.

"I've been playing football since I was 15, I've been through good times and bad times everywhere, so there came a point when I thought it was time to take care of myself and my family," he recalls to ESPN.

"The offer we had from Saudi Arabia really tempted me. It would have solved not just my personal life, but also the lives of my parents, my son... a lot of people.

"Obviously, we thought about leaving [Barcelona]. I thought it might be time to leave, but then we talked to [Flick], first on the phone and then at the beginning of the preseason, and he managed to convince me to stay. I'm glad he did."

Raphinha's explosive 2024/25

Eyebrows were raised when Barcelona purchased Raphinha from Leeds United for €63m (£55m) in the summer of 2022 but he has gone on to become a talismanic figure for the club and one of the squad's captains.

He was sensational in the 2024/25 campaign, scoring 34 goals and recording 26 assists in 57 appearances for the Blaugrana as they won La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

The 28-year-old subsequently finished fifth in the 2025 Ballon d'Or.

He has started the current season off promisingly with five goal contributions in seven matches but has struggling with injury, too.

A hamstring issue could see him miss the Girona match this weekend as he may be rested for the upcoming Clasico encounter versus Real Madrid.

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