In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has dominated the transfer market with million-dollar offers and in recent weeks many players have been linked with the Saudis. All LaLiga teams have been approached with astronomical amounts of money on the table. Names like Vinicius, Rodrygo and Baena have received offers of up to three figures to head to Saudi Arabia. FC Barcelona was not going to be outdone and has received offers for players such as De Jong, Ferrán Torres and Raphinha.
Raphinha, part of Barça’s goal-scoring trident
If there is one thing that characterizes Hansi Flick’s Barça this season, it is their goal-scoring ability. FC Barcelona has been in love with goals so far this season, and especially at the beginning of the year, which is leading them to reach historic figures for the blaugrana team. This offensive prowess is mainly down to a lethal trident made up of Robert Lewandowski, who is close to signing a contract extension for matches played, but also deserves it given the numbers he has scored this year in Barcelona; Raphinha, who is attracting a lot of interest in the market; and Lamine Yamal, who will renew his contract when he comes of age and is currently the jewel of the Masia.
Between the three of them they account for a large part of the 113 goals already scored in the 36 matches played in all competitions by the blaugrana team. If we take into account only the domestic competition, that is, LaLiga, the figure is 64 goals in the first 23 matchdays, numbers not seen since the 2014/15 season at FC Barcelona. Specifically, the distribution of goals would be 31 for Robert Lewandowski, 24 for Raphinha and 11 for Lamine Yamal.
Renewal of Raphinha
The footballer has a contract in force until 2027, but the club in Barcelona does not want to take risks with one of its key players. Raphinha will be 30 years old when his contract ends, but the club is already making moves to secure his future. Specifically, the Barça offices are said to be launching a proposal in which the sports management would offer him two more seasons, until 2029, and a salary increase from 2026.
A scary offer
The player is in great shape and is close to the numbers that led Vinicius to be a candidate for the Ballon d’Or and that has not gone unnoticed in an emerging market full of money like Saudi Arabia, which also saw him up close during the Super Cup against Real Madrid in which he played a prominent role.
You have to see how the tables turn, because not long ago, last summer, Joan Laporta was looking for a buyer for Raphinha who would pay more than he cost: 60 million. And he didn’t find one. Now, his great performance has increased his value and with a market as powerful as Arab football, the Barça president could have found what he was looking for and not only that, he could see the amount he was looking to get multiplied by 3.
And according to the Madrid-Barcelona portal, the offer that would reach Barça for Raphinha would amount to 200 million as an initial amount, that is to say, it could still go up. These are dizzying figures that could go a long way to solving FC Barcelona’s economic situation. However, the player’s situation is now very different to a few months ago and his great performance under Flick has made him an indispensable player and, as we said, work is already underway to retain him at the Camp Nou.
The club interested in Raphinha is Al Ahli of Jeddah, the same one that is following in the footsteps of Vinícius.