From Yorkshire to Catalonia! Brazilian forward Raphael Dias Belloli, commonly known as Raphinha, signed for Barcelona after the Catalan club pulled off a bunch of financial reshuffles and cuts to afford the $63.8 million needed to seal the transfer of the 25-year-old star.The moment you’ve all been waiting for 🤩Raphinha’s first touches as a Culer 🤙 pic.twitter.com/2Ct8V36THm— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 15, 2022 He was Leeds United’s best player under the guidance of Marcelo Bielsa as the Whites took the Premier League by storm in their first season back. The Brazilian became a fan favourite, but once he learned of Barcelona’s interest, it was the only place he wanted to go.”I’ll do my best to make Barca become Barca again. This is a big club that deserves to compete for titles every year. This team has the potential to win titles. For me, playing at Barca is a childhood dream that I am realizing for my family as well. I have many idols who have played here and made history. If I manage to do half as much as them, I will have already done a lot. I started following Barca when Ronaldinho came here. I became a fan because Ronaldinho and Deco influenced me a lot. Also, when Neymar joined Barcelona, it was a big deal. They were Brazilians who were making history and I also dreamed of making history here.”##NAJAVA_MECA_6508188##Brazilian-born Portuguese midfielder Deco produced some stellar displays at Camp Nou. Nearly two decades later, Deco is Raphina’s agent who made the dream transfer possible. The Brazil international will now play for Deco’s former teammate Xavi Hernandez.”I spoke a few times with Xavi, and it was a great honour. He was a fantastic player and is making a career as a coach. He told me that I could help the team. I think we can combine my desire to be a great player and his desire for me to be important.”The smile on Raphinha’s face 😁 pic.twitter.com/lVKJw8cqqw— GOAL (@goal) July 15, 2022 Chelsea had been pushing to sign the attacker and Arsenal, and it had been indicated he preferred a move to Stamford Bridge if his choice was between the two Premier League sides. But as soon as Barcelona’s interest was firmed up, there was only ever going to be one outcome for the man who made 36 appearances for Leeds in all competitions last season and scored 11 times. Raphinha is Barcelona’s next Brazilian wonder!
