Speaking on the Super Six Podcast, Luke Ayling has been waxing-lyrical about Raphinha, claiming that he is an unbelievable player.
The right-back was discussing the dynamics in training at Thorp Arch, stating that Marcelo Bielsa will make every player train in the exact same way, regardless of their age or status within the team.
Ayling said that even Raphinha, who he says could be the team’s best player without even training, is expected to train in the exact same way as everybody else.
“The best thing is that we’ve got Pablo Hernandez who is 34 or 35 who has to do the same amount of running as Jamie Shackleton. It’s the same for everyone, he doesn’t care,” Ayling said.
“It’s good for us because we know that everyone is treated the same, for example, someone like Rapha now who is unbelievable, he can do what he wants and still be the best player, but he’s still got to do the same running as us and do the sprints and that.”
Raphinha may be a fantastic football, but he still has to train just as hard as anyone else.
This is exactly what you’d expect from Marcelo Bielsa.
We hear stories all the time about the best players getting preferential treatment from their managers, but it seems as though Bielsa isn’t willing to do that at Leeds.
The Argentine prioritises fitness and energy over everything else, so even if you’re as skilful and tricky as Raphinha, if you’re not doing the running, you’re not training correctly.
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