Raphinha has explained why Arsenal midfielder Jorginho spoke to him all the time ahead of the Barcelona star making a huge decision. In the build up to his Leeds United exit back in the summer of 2022, Raphinha was linked with a transfer to the Gunners.
Chelsea and Manchester City were also interested in signing the 28-year-old but he ultimately chose to join his dream club, Barcelona. His first few seasons at the Nou Camp were mixed to say the least, but he has gone up a level since the arrival of Hansi Flick.
In the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, Raphinha scored 10 goals in each campaign but he has already hit 31 in all competitions this season with 25 assists also to his name.
Alongside the likes of Lamine Yamal and Pedri, Raphinha has been integral to Barcelona's push to win the Champions League and La Liga title, having already secured the Copa del Rey at the expense of Real Madrid.
Barcelona are currently at a stalemate in their European semi-final with Inter Milan while Paris Saint-Germain lead Arsenal on the opposite side of the bracket.
His consistently superb domestic displays have also seen him become a mainstay with Brazil, but it could have been very different.
Just under four years ago, Euro 2020 took place and Raphinha, despite now only being eligible to play in the Copa America or World Cup, could have featured.
That is because he was on the verge of representing Italy with Jorginho, having made a similar leap, desperate for him to switch his allegiance.
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"I was close to accepting the call-up to the Italy national team," he said in an interview with Isabela Pagliari. "I would have gone to the European Championships that they won in 2020. I was pretty much ready.
“The guys from the Italian national team called me. Jorginho always called me. The Italian staff had this fantastic project for me, something that really impressed me.
"But at the same time, deep down, I still had that one percent hope of wearing the Brazil shirt. And fortunately, my Italian passport didn’t arrive in time.”
Raphinha has since scored 11 goals in 33 games for the Brazil national team while with it certainly appearing as though he has made the right decision given the future expected of both nations.
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