In light of transfer rumours, Raphinha has informed Leeds United that he will not take part in preseason training.
According to Marca, Barcelona should have acquired a financial boost in the upcoming days. It will enable the Catalan giants to make a formal offer for the 25-year-old Leeds winger.
Deco, the agent of Raphina has since advised him to wait for a move by Barcelona rather than accepting Chelsea’s request. It is also noted that Deco was at Barca’s training headquarters last week for meetings with the La Liga club’s top brass.
Raphinha appeared to be headed for Chelsea after The Athletic reported that the Blues reached an agreement with Leeds for the Brazilian. However, Raphina favours a move to Barcelona.
Why Haven’t Barca Signed Raphinha?
Barcelona are in a deep financial crisis. They made a number of big-money signings in the previous years which haven’t worked out. Coupled with underperformance over the years and the pandemic, the La Liga giants found themselves in over a billion Euros in debt.
This has made their pursuit of Raphina more difficult. They are struggling to meet Leeds’ asking price. Chelsea, on the other hand, have had no problems in meeting that price. The two Premier League clubs have reached an agreement for some time now, but Raphinia is hell-bent on going to Barcelona only.
It really tells us about the status of Barcelona as a club. Despite many years of performing below expectations, they still enamour top players from around the world.
They recently confirmed the signings of Christensen and Franck Kessie. Now they are looking to strengthen their frontline with the signing of Robert Lewandowski and Raphina. Reports claim that they have decided to sell some of their TV rights for cash, which can help them to sign them in the short term.
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