Raphinha is struggling at Barcelona with the former Leeds United winger receiving criticism for his display against Bayern Munich.
Barcelona were one of the big stories of the summer transfer window.
Despite seemingly having no money and being up against Financial Fair Play regulations, Barcelona went on quite the spending spree.
Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Hector Bellerin, Marcos Alonso and Raphinha all joined Barcelona in a busy summer.
The aim when spending high was to get through the Champions League group stage – but that hasn’t happened.
Raphinha is struggling at Barcelona
Inter Milan’s thrashing of Viktoria Plzen meant Barcelona couldn’t get through their group even before kicking off against Bayern Munich.
Bayern went on to thrash Barca anyway, securing a 3-0 win at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona’s plans to return to the top of the game have already taken a dent and questions are understandably being answered.
Not only is Xavi under threat as manager but some are wondering whether this was at all worth it given the public perception of Barcelona now.
Summer signings have been a mixed bag and sadly, Raphinha enters into this conversation.
The winger joined Barcelona in a dream move from Leeds United with the Whites raking in £49million rising to £55million.
Raphinha was a superstar at Leeds, bagging 17 goals and 12 assists in 67 games after joining from Rennes in 2020.
Yet it’s been a slow start at Barcelona, notching just one goal and one assist in 14 appearances.
Raphinha didn’t start against Bayern but when he came on around the hour mark, he didn’t make an impact.
La Vanguardia rated Raphinha at just 3/10 for his performance against Bayern, suggesting that Raphinha knows he has lost the fight to be an important player in attack.
Others like Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres seem to have more importance at Barcelona, and La Vanguardia suggest that this situation now appears to be weighing on Raphinha.
Leeds fans won’t want to see Raphinha struggle and will be desperate for him to turn this situation around.
Premier League clubs will certainly have one eye on Raphinha’s situation though, possibly in the hope of luring him back to England in 2023.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
