Raphinha to Liverpool is a transfer saga that just won’t go away. But the Brazilian has now decided that he wants to join Barcelona instead.
That’s according to Sport who claim that the 25-year-old has ‘left interest from Liverpool in the background’ having ‘prioritised’ Barcelona’s offer.
Raphinha reportedly prefers Barca’s offer of a regular starting spot and is attracted to the youthfulness of Xavi’s squad.
Bayern Munich, along with Liverpool, are also reported to be set to miss out on Raphinha.
Not settling for being a back-up
It sounds as though a starting spot at a big club is what Raphinha is craving. That’s currently much more likely to happen at Barcelona, rather than Liverpool.
That’s because the Leeds United man is virtually exclusively a right-winger. At present, Liverpool have arguably the best player in the world occupying that position – Mohamed Salah.
It could be that Liverpool’s reported interest in Raphinha is a plan B option. If they can come to an agreement with Salah over a contract extension, then perhaps there’s no need for another right-sided attacker.
But they also have to be prepared for the eventuality that Salah’s days at Anfield are numbered. Liverpool are a very thorough club when it comes to squad planning – more thorough than most.
You can bet that those behind the scenes in the recruitment department are preparing for every scenario possible. That includes sounding out players who could potentially step in.
In that respect, the interest in Raphinha would make a lot of sense. He has been one of the best players in that position in the Premier League for the last two years. Paul Merson even called him ‘unbelievable’ via Sky Sports less than 10 days ago.
It has already been reported that Barcelona have made an opening bid of £29m for the Brazil international. It’s unlikely that Liverpool would spend that kind of money on a back-up player.
The Reds seemingly may eventually lose out on this one. But if there’s a guaranteed starting spot at a club like Barcelona, then you can hardly blame the player for giving that precedence.
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