When Raphinha converted his penalty on the final day of the 2021/22 season to help Leeds United on their way to Premier League survival, he ensured that his name would be mentioned around Yorkshire for years to come.
If you're going to leave for the biggest club in the world, then doing so off the back of successful survival is the way to do it.
Raphinha more than earned the chance to take the Barcelona jump; there was no tarnishing of his legacy. Instead, those at Elland Road still look back on his spell with great fondness.
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They look back on when one of the world's best players dragged Jesse Marsch's Leeds side to survival in the 21/22 campaign and hope that, one day, a similar star emerges at Elland Road.
Raphinha's Leeds legacy
Raphinha's Leeds spell looks better as every year passes and he continues to rise up the ranks in the Ballon d'Or vote. Not even the Whites knew just how impressive he would become at Barcelona after dragging the club to survival, but that £55m fee has looked like a bargain ever since.
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The numbers never truly did his two-year spell justice at Elland Road. Raphinha has always been a player more than goals and assists. It's partly why there were some doubters at Barcelona when the goals didn't arrive straight away.
Raphinha 21/22 Leeds stats
Minutes 2,922
Goals 11
Assists 3
Successful Take-ons 62
Chances Created 65
Leeds didn't need goals and assists to highlight the Brazilian's impact, though. Their Premier League status at the end of both of his top flight seasons was the biggest indicator.
Only seven players registered more successful dribbles than Raphinha in the 2021/22 campaign and that was his best trait. It's something that any side fighting for survival needs. It's the ultimate counter to endless pressure from top-six sides and a large reason why Leeds stayed afloat.
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It's a trait which Daniel Farke's side are currently lacking. With 11 games to go, the closest to replicating Raphinha in the first team has been Noah Okafor, with 31 dribbles. And whilst that's not a disastrous record, Leeds' most exciting talent since the Brazilian could actually lie in their academy.
Leeds' new Raphinha
When Leeds lost Archie Gray to Tottenham Hotspur in 2024, they should have wiped their eyes, adjusted their vision and instantly realised that they've still got their best academy star in Harry Gray.
The younger brother to the Tottenham midfielder, Gray is someone that many believe is destined to thrive at Elland Road.
At just 17 years old, the forward is already on loan at Rotherham United and has already found the back of the net twice in League One. That loan spell would have come as no surprise for those in Yorkshire, however, after Gray scored six goals in seven Premier League 2 games earlier this season.
Rotherham boss Matt Hamshaw has certainly been impressed with the Leeds teenager so far and even revealed that the club remarkably receive around 60 scout requests to watch the forward every week.
"There were a few eyebrows raised when a 17-year-old kid (came here). Leeds fans think a lot of him. I know there’s a lot of media hype around him and we must get 60 scout requests every week. He’s a big talent with a big future.
"I won’t say it’s a difficult position, but the fact he’s come in at this point speaks volumes about the kid. He could well have gone somewhere else, sat on the bench and not come on."
It would take a lot for Gray to eventually replicate Raphinha at Elland Road, but he is well on his way. He's earning praise all the time with perhaps the most notable words coming from Como scout Ben Mattinson.
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Taking to social media to praise the forward, he noted that the teenager is "one of England’s best prospects in his generation."
The forward, alongside brother Archie, is a third-generation star. Leeds stardom is in his blood and there's every chance that he receives the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in Yorkshire.
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