Barcelona toast £55m Raphinha as he dreams of ‘making history’ in the footsteps of idols Ronaldinho and Neymar… as cash-strapped Catalans agree to pay £10MILLION more if they are late on payments to Leeds!
- Brazilian forward Raphinha signed for Spanish side Barcelona on Wednesday
- Following his unveiling by the Catalan giants he spoke at a press conference
- He fielded questions from the Spanish media on his decision to join the club
- the 25-year-old said he dreamed of emulating legends Neymar and Ronaldinho
Barcelona have agreed to pay an additional £10million to Leeds if they are late on payments for new £55m signing Raphinha.
The Brazilian was presented by his new side on Friday as he claimed it his dream to win titles and make history at his new club, emulating Brazilian icons Ronaldinho and Neymar.
Raphinha also revealed that he had always dreamed of playing for Barcelona since leaving Brazil in 2016, and club president Joan Laporta admitted he was happy for the player to carry on the club’s long tradition of signing Brazilians.
The former Leeds forward was officially unveiled by the Catalan giants today at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper following his high-profile £55m switch from Premier League side Leeds.
The winger’s agent Deco waived his agent’s fee to push a deal through.
Raphinha was officially unveiled as a Barcelona player at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper
Barcelona legend Ronaldinho was idolised by Raphinha when growing up in Brazil
Raphinha has completed a £55million move to Barcelona after two successful years with Leeds
Speaking at his first press conference as an official Barca player, Raphinha told reporters: ‘I feel privileged to be here. It’s very exciting. I can’t believe it.
‘I started to find out about Barça when they signed Ronaldinho. When I left Brazil I wanted to fulfil my dream of playing for Barça. I would already sign to be half of what Ronaldinho was at Barça.
Raphinha has put pen to paper over a five-year deal at the Nou Camp
‘Together with Deco or Neymar he also had an influence. Neymar He is a player that I admire a lot. I dreamed of making history at Barça and being a champion with Barça like they did.
‘I made the decision from the beginning. Deco and Alemany have done everything possible for me to come. I accepted the decision and I won’t regret it.’
Ronaldinho is one of the most successful players in Barcelona’s history, winning two LaLiga titles and two Spanish Cups as well as a Champions League, with 164 goal contributions in 207 games.
Neymar however went even further, winning a Champions League, Club World Cup, European Supercup, three Spanish Cups and a Spanish Super Cup, before leaving in a ground-breaking £200m switch to PSG.
Raphinha was also effusive in his praise of the Blaugrana side’s history of competing for the biggest titles, and told fans that they should expect a lot of fight from him in the iconic shirt.
However, the 25-year-old was not just quizzed on his reasons for joining the afflicted five-time Champions League winners, but on the prospect of playing with Robert Lewandowski, who Barcelona have been linked with this summer.
Raphinha admitted he had imagined providing assists for the likes of Ansu Fati and Jordi Alba
Asked about the prospects of assisting the Polish star, he said: ‘What I imagine is assisting Alba, Ferran, Ansu… players who are already in the squad.
‘If the president doesn’t want to talk about players who aren’t in the squad, neither do I.’
Raphinha becomes Xavi’s third signing of the summer following the free transfers of Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen from AC Milan and Chelsea respectively.
Raphinha scored 17 goals in 67 appearances across two seasons in England with Leeds
