Barcelona squeezed past Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday night, with a single goal from Ferran Torres, securing their place in the final. It brings to an end four hard-fought encounters between the two sides this season, with both teams showing plenty of mutual respect for each other.
🚨 Julián Álvarez on IG: “We fought until the end. We will keep fighting for the league. Thank you Atléticos for always being there.” pic.twitter.com/EUHWx4DiDu
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) April 2, 2025
Atletico manager Diego Simeone has called Barcelona the best side they have faced this season, while Hansi Flick stated before the semi-final second leg that he loved Atletico’s style of play. That mutual respect was on show after the game too, as Brazilian winger Raphinha waited behind in the tunnel after the game to exchange shirts with Atletico star Rodrigo de Paul.
Raphinha is the definition of class. Meeting with Rodrigo de Paul post match to swap jerseys after Argentina beat Brazil 4-1 two weeks ago in the international break. 🇧🇷 x 🇦🇷 respeto pic.twitter.com/1sX49NOuf9
— Sara Poraria (@SaraPoraria) April 2, 2025
The narrative between the two goes back to the previous week, when Raphinha was on the losing side. After some incendiary comments before Brazil faced Argentina in Buenos Aires, Raphinha endured a grim 4-1 defeat, and was the object of Argentinian taunts all game. After the game, some took the chance to respond to Raphinha too.
Azpilicueta and Raphinha compete for the ball
Image via Eurosport / Getty Images
However de Paul was not one of them, with the following to say to the press after the game.
“It’s fine. It stays there, on the pitch. We never disrespect anyone. And yet, over the years, we’ve been disrespected quite a bit. We’ve been the best team of all time for five or six years. Let them respect us,” he told MD.
Eric García almost joined Coma in January for €7m. His medical tests were already booked. However, Hansi Flick convinced him to stay. @FabrizioRomano
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 3, 2025
Many were surprised at Raphinha’s comments before the match, but the Brazilian has never been shy of showing his emotions or giving his opinion. This season he has become a leader for the Blaugrana, and one of their most vocal players, often taking the armband in the absence of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong through injuries. Raphinha had been absent from Barcelona’s last two games with muscle discomfort, but played the full 90 minutes against Atletico.