It is the summer of 2022, and Thomas Tuchel is newly backed by the might of BlueCo and Todd Boehly following their takeover of Chelsea in May of that year. A Leeds United player was on the radar.
Chelsea spent a ridiculous amount that season. North of £100m on Enzo Fernandez, £75m on defender Wesley Fofana, around £60m each on Mykhailo Mudryk and Marc Cucurella. Huge amounts of cash.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tuchel was sacked just a month into the season after defeats to Leeds United, Southampton and Dinamo Zagreb. But it could have all been very different for Chelsea and Tuchel.
That summer, Chelsea had tried to raid the Leeds side that beat Tuchel’s men 3-0 at the start of the 2022-23 season. They wanted to sign Barcelona icon Raphinha, who has become legendary at the Nou Camp.
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What Rio Ferdinand has just said about Barcelona’s Raphinha
Not long after completing a move to Barcelona from Leeds for a fee of £55m, Raphinha explained why he had rejected a move to join Chelsea. Speaking to Spanish media, he explained why he told Chelsea no.
“Rejecting an offer from Chelsea? Yes, because my dream was to wear the Barca shirt,” he said to La Vanguardia. “I followed them since I was young, since Ronaldinho arrived. I wanted to be a part of it.”
Fast forward until now, and Leeds icon Raphinha scored a brace in Barcelona’s 3-2 El Clasico win in the Spanish Super Cup. The mini SuperCup tournament was held in the Middle East over the past week.
Barcelona duo Raphinha and Lamine Yamal talking
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Speaking on his own podcast, Rio Ferdinand claims Raphinha is one of the most-improved players in European football having gone from Leeds to becoming one of the best players in world football.
“Because you got to remember, he was in the Premier League playing for Leeds. He went to Barcelona. Everyone’s eyebrows are raised. He has to be up there with one of the most improved players in Europe.
“Taking the responsibility of wearing the armband at Barcelona. Like, no one would have said that when he was watching him at Elland Road playing for Leeds,” Ferdinand said, having spoken to Raphinha
What Deco said about Chelsea’s offer for Raphinha
Currently, Deco is Barcelona’s sporting director but at the time of Raphinha’s move to Barcelona, the former Chelsea midfielder was Raphinha’s agent. In 2024, Deco spoke to football magazine FourFourTwo.
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“Leeds wanted to sell Raphinha. Then bids came in, even bigger than Barcelona’s. The owner of Chelsea [Todd Boehly] called me and insisted a lot, putting pressure on me – he really wanted to sign Raphinha.”
It seems then that Chelsea did all they could, even going above Barcelona financially but it was simply that Raphinha had his heart set on a move to the Nou Camp. Ultimately, it has worked out for Raphinha.
How Chelsea could do with Raphinha right now. Cole Palmer is a doubt for Arsenal on Wednesday night and both Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho are struggling for form. Raphinha would certainly start.
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