Paul Merson has predicted on SportsKeeda that he thinks that reported Arsenal target Raphinha will leave Leeds United in the summer transfer window and could join Barcelona.
The former Arsenal star believes that Leeds winger Raphinha is good enough to play for any top teams in the Premier League.
The Sky Sports pundit thinks that the Brazil international winger could end up at Barcelona or Real Madrid, and not Arsenal.
Well-known and well-respected journalist Fabrizio Romano said on The Here We Go Podcast this week that Barcelona are leading the race for Raphinha, but Arsenal have asked about the 25-year-old.
Merson wrote on SportsKeeda: “Raphinha is a player who has generated a lot of transfer talk in recent weeks, with Barcelona reportedly interested in snapping him up this summer.
“I think he’ll leave Leeds regardless of what happens – he’s capable of playing for any of the big boys in the Premier League.
“Real Madrid and Barcelona still have the charm when it comes to foreign players – when either of the two clubs come for a player, they inevitably end up getting them.”
Arsenal v Barcelona for Raphinha
In our opinion, Barcelona do have an advantage over Arsenal for Raphinha, who cost Leeds £17 million in transfer fees in the summer of 2020 (The Athletic).
Barcelona are one of the biggest clubs in the world and are doing extremely well under head coach Xavi at the moment.
The Blaugrana are likely to end up in the La Liga top four this season, and we do expect them to challenge Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid for the title in 2022-23 and beyond.
Raphinha’s agent is Deco, who is a former Barcelona player and has close relationships with club president Joan Laporta.
Now, of course, we know that Arsenal are a global brand, but we think that Barcelona would be more appealing to Raphinha than the Gunners.
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