Leeds United winger Raphinha has shared that Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes ‘congratulated’ him for his international call up for Brazil, as he told A Bola.
The duo played alongside each other for Sporting Lisbon and are now rivals in the Premier League.
But that didn’t stop Fernandes from congratulating the Leeds speedster on his debut call for Brazil, with one of football greats, Ronaldinho, also sending good wishes to the player.
“Bruno (Fernandes) congratulated me,” said Raphinha. “I deserved this for some time. I wasn’t surprised by what was happening.”
It is a deserved call for Raphinha, and it would have happened sooner had it not been for the whole saga surrounding South American players travelling, or not travelling, during the last international break.
In his debut campaign for Leeds, Raphinha provided nine assists and found the back of the net on six occasions.
And even during the Whites’ difficult start this season, he has already managed three goals for the club.
But now it’s about getting out on that pitch for the first time and he has the chance to do so in the early hours of Friday morning.
Brazil take on Venezuela in a World Cup qualifier, before another trip, this time to Colombia, before rounding off the international break with a home clash against Uruguay.
A number of these games are going to come thick and fast, so surely Raphinha has to earn some minutes, or even starts during that period.
In the meantime, Leeds fans will continue to watch their player’s stock just continue to rise and hit the roof because he is quickly becoming a must-watch performer in the Premier League.
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