Saying Bye to Raphinha: A Look on His Time in West Yorkshire, and What’s Next For The Whites
It is finally confirmed. The saga is officially over. Raphinha has joined Barcelona for an intial fee of £55m, potentially rising to £65m. It was long, it was difficult, but the Brazilian eventually got his move, Leeds got their valuation and Barcelona got their player. Happy all-round.
Raphinha spent just two seasons at Elland Road, but his impact was seismic. 67 appearances, 17 goals. But they’re just the statistics — what they don’t show you is the pure, unadulterated joy he brought to every fan that had the pleasure watching him live.
A player that screams Brazil, he brought flair and goals, but certainly did not lack commitment and work-rate. Only a certain type of player can play in a Bielsa system that is so widely-renowned for covering extensive distance; the hard-yards. He was one of them — he thrived in it. Barcelona are getting themselves a player.
His impact has been so great, that it would only be fair to reflect on his short time at Elland Road, re-live his greatest moments (one is shown below), and assess how Leeds have dealt with the sale of their star winger.
Rapha’s Leeds Journey
You wouldn’t be turning any heads by saying Raphinha has been Leeds’ most successful singing since re-joining the Premier League in 2020. He joined the club for £17m from Stade Rennes. He came with some baggage — and some frosty Rennes fans with some ‘fishy’ comments — but took little-to-no time to settle in, with his first goal coming in just his second start — and what a goal it was. 25 yards out, closed down by Godfrey, there were very few options viable. Raphinha chose the right one, and executed it perfectly. It’s maybe a cliché, but putting it through a defenders legs leaves the goalkeeper with very little chance. And, importantly, it looks good.
The first season surpassed many’s expectations, and Raphinha was a key cog in Bielsa’s wheel. He was directly contributing to a goal every 157 minutes, with 15 goals and assists in 30 games, the third-most in the squad. The 25-year-old came up trumps with some very important and high-quality goals, most notably against West Brom, Southampton and Newcastle.
It truly was a stellar campaign from the whole squad — unfortunately for Leeds that did not continue through 2021/22.
Leeds were faced with a wealth of issues the following year; first and foremost Bamford (who was the club’s top scorer the season prior) notched just 559 minutes across the Premier League campaign, with only one start (vs Norwich, a game he only managed the first half in) since the middle of September, leaving Leeds extraordinarily short for goals. He was also concurrently joined on the injury list with key players such as Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas.
Raphinha, however, would emerge as the player with the ability to grab a game by the scruff of its neck and drag Leeds to victory. He would score a goal that improved Leeds’ result on 4 seperate occassions, and also, crucially, won and scored the penalty that gave Leeds the lead in the final day of the season.
Truthfully, while Leeds were far from a ‘one-man side’, Raphinha took on the mantle of Leeds’ main man, due to the absences of Bamford and Phillips. The Brazilian missed just three games over the course of the Premier League season (Leeds lost two of these, the other was a remarkable comeback at The Molineux) and he proved to be the difference as to whether they would be playing at The Etihad or Kenilworth Road the following year.
It became evident, however, for the final few months of the season that big clubs were sniffing around for Raphinha, and he was interested. But it seemed he would only be interested in one of these, possibly the biggest of all; Barcelona.
Unfortunately, they didn’t act like the biggest club of them all. They acted rather like entitled brats. The Spanish club offered only instalments for months, a structure that Leeds were adamant would not happen. A structure that would allow Raphinha to join Barcelona, for small fees paid once a year.
This has been Barcelona’s way of financing deals in recent times, due to their apparent lack of cash. A structure that has meant they still owe Real Betis for Junior Firpo, who they bought in 2019, and now plays for Leeds United, somewhat unfortunately.
It has long been known the state of Barcelona’s finances — in fact Bayern Munich even told Barcelona they ‘didn’t think they would be a club in two or three years’ — but Raphinha was determined to get his childhood dream move to Catalonia, and after weeks of disappointing offers falling far below Leeds’ valuation… Barcelona got their man.
He looks far better in white, though.
What’s Next For Leeds?
After the sale of both Raphinha and Phillips, any onlooker peering at Leeds’ transfer business this summer may think of this as a nightmare window — and they’d have every right to.
But the truth is, the window has gone about as good as could be hoped for a Leeds fan. The departures of both Phillips and Raphinha were largely expected at the end of the season (especially if both Manchester City and Barcelona came knocking). The question that Orta had to answer this year was; how are we going to replace them, whilst also improving the squad? He answered that rather emphatically.
As demonstrated above, we can see Leeds’ summer business. First of all, it appears Colombian winger Luis Sinisterra has been chosen as Raphinha’s direct replacement — and he seems to be someone to get excited about.
The 23-year-old notched 37 goal involvements in 49 appearences for Dutch side Feyenoord last season, proving he is a player with a clinical edge, as is the case with Raphinha. Sinisterra was also key to Feyenoord’s European cup run, helping them get to the final of the European Conference League. Maybe I’m getting carried away… but he looks fantastic.
Leeds have also focused on the central-midfield role. With Phillips out the door and our last signing in that area being Adam Forshaw in January 2018 (blimey), this role was crying out for reinforcements. In Adams, Roca and Aaronson, Orta delivered.
Of course, Rasmus Kristensen is certainly not someone to be slept on, with 18 direct goal contributions last season alone, from full-back. Gyabi is also a player with heaps of potential.
With Barcelona’s generous (and hard-fought) up-front payment of £55m now in Leeds’ back pocket, it means they are in the market again. This time, for a striker.
Leeds have given Brugge a final offer of £37m for Charles De Ketelaere, who seems to be pushing for a move to the red-and-black side of Milan, and also, at the time of writing, appear to have agreed a fee of £21m for PSG’s Arnoud Kalimuendo. Both strikers are coming off the back of a terrific season and show Leeds, once again, mean business this summer.
From our activity this window, there is a strong argument to suggest we will be a better side next season. Of course, only time will tell, however I am confident in saying that we have effectively replaced our outgoings whilst strengthening other areas of the squad we desperately needed.
Marsch has been backed by Radrizzani to his full ability — and now, with the season closing in, it is his turn to show us that he is ready for this. We certainly didn’t see the full extent of Marsch-ball towards the end of last season, so there will be expectations of vast improvements — especially with the levels of investment.
A Final Goodbye
Before I get too carried away discussing our exciting incomings, it is important to say a final goodbye to our Brazilian winger, Raphinha.
I am happy, as I’m sure all Leeds fans are, that such a fantastic footballer has been given the opportunity to live his childhood dreams; playing Champions League football for Barcelona, like his idol Ronaldinho.
Whether the Barcelona of old is even comparable to modern-day Barcelona is another question, but Raphinha deserves the chance to fulfill his dream and play with the world’s best. While keeping him at Leeds could have led to a mouth-watering frontline, it would have been against his will and given his performances to keep us in this league throughout the year; he’s earned this.
Go and smash it at Barcelona, and continue the historic Brazilian legacy at the club, Raphinha.