Robin Bairner
Man City manager Pep Guardiola, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, Liverpool coach Arne Slot
© IMAGO
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have told Barcelona that they are prepared to sign Raphinha if the Brazil star is placed on the transfer list.
The Blaugrana continue to wrestle with severe financial difficulties and find themselves in the potentially embarrassing situation of being unable to register Dani Olmo in January if they cannot raise more funds for the team.
Potentially with their hands tied by Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, Raphinha has been suggested as one player they could sell.
Claims in Catalunya suggest that president Joan Laporta will consider bids around the €100m mark, and according to TBR Football, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City have made their interest in the player known.
Barcelona, though, are likely to be disappointed in the type of money the Premier League sides are willing to spend on the former Leeds star, who is 28 years old. A €100m deal simply does not appear on the cards from any of these clubs at this point in the season.
Equally, Barca would be reticent to sell a player who is putting up Ballon d’Or-type numbers. Already this season he has 17 goals and nine assists, meaning he has had a hand in a goal every 72 minutes he’s been on the park. Keep this up for the whole campaign and claim some major silverware and the €58m signing will find himself in contention for the prestigious honour.
Furthermore, Raphinha is a player admired by head coach Hansi Flick and has often been nominated to captain Barcelona this term.
Raphinha: A key player at Barcelona
© IMAGO - Raphinha: A key player at Barcelona
A way out of trouble
Barcelona are hopeful that a deal worth around €200m will be finalised imminently. This will see VIP seats at the refurbished Camp Nou sold off for a period of 20 years.
The expectation is that this will be done before the January transfer window and will give Barca the breathing space to sign Dani Olmo and will mean that the sale of Raphinha comes off the table for now.
In the longer term, this could also fund a move for at least one superstar player, with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland one of the names linked with the Blaugrana.