Barcelona rejected a €70m offer from Arsenal for winger in January despite ‘good business’ claims
La Liga giants Barcelona rejected a huge bid from Arsenal for Brazilian winger Raphinha in January, according to reports in Spain.
The 26-year-old moved to the Camp Nou from Leeds United in the summer transfer window in a £55m deal after Raphinha contributed 17 goals and 12 assists in two Premier League seasons.
But it hasn’t quite gone to plan for the Brazil international in Spain with Raphinha spending a lot of season on the bench with Ousmane Dembele preferred by Xavi.
Raphinha has still managed some game time with the winger contributing four goals four assists in 21 appearances with 12 of those coming from the start.
Arsenal were linked with the Brazilian over the January transfer window after they failed to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk with the Ukraine international ending up at Premier League rivals Chelsea.
There seemed little in the reports linking the Gunners with a move to Raphinha after the Brazilian insisted he was ready to win more trophies with Barca after they won the Spanish Super Cup in January,
Raphinha said: “This is my first trophy with this giant club, this enormous shirt of FC Barcelona — it’s incredible. And so now we go for more trophies.”
However, Spanish publication Sport (via Sport Witness) claims Arsenal made a €70m offer for Raphinha in January with €58m of that as a fixed fee – but the Catalan giants rejected it.
Despite it being viewed as ‘good business’ Barcelona ‘said no’ to Arsenal as the La Liga outfit want Raphinha for the future.
Raphinha reacted angrily to being substituted late on in Barcelona’s 2-2 draw against Manchester United but Barca boss Xavi is glad the Brazilian isn’t happy about coming off.
“I understand it perfectly,” Xavi said when asked about Raphinha’s reaction. “It’s happened to me before.
“But I [made the change] for the good of the team, never to single him out. Now he has apologised but he doesn’t have to. I told him, ‘Calm down, I understand you’.
“What would be bad is if he happy about coming off. That’s the attitude. I don’t see it as negative, I see it in a very positive way because he wants to be here, to play.
“I always tell them that they have to get angry. A bad attitude, no, but they have to get angry and, if they want, insult me.”
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