“If a player does not feel good somewhere”
Some transfer sagas do not end when the window shuts. The Julian Alvarez one is still sitting there, unresolved, and Raphinha has now put his foot in it on purpose. Talking to Marca, the Barcelona winger went after Atletico Madrid’s refusal to even discuss selling the Argentine.
“I dont understand what Atletico did, because if a player does not feel good somewhere, and I know that from experience, its hard for things to go well. He made it clear he wanted to leave,” the Brazilian said.
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Barca knocked. Nobody answered.
Barcelona did try. Atletico never once opened the door, held the line right through to deadline day, and Alvarez is still at the Metropolitano with the whole thing hanging over him.
That aside about knowing it from experience is worth pausing on. Raphinha had a scratchy first spell in Catalonia before Hansi Flick turned him into something close to untouchable. He has a fairly clear idea of what a season spent unhappy actually costs a player.
One career stalling, one taking off
Alvarez arrived from Manchester City in the summer of 2024 as the striker who was supposed to redefine Atletico’s attack. Two years later, his name comes up in Madrid mostly in connection with injuries and exit rumours.
Raphinha is talking from the other end of that spectrum. Barca put seven past Racing Santander in midweek, a 7-2 that flattered nobody, and head to Sevilla on Saturday night. Since Flick walked in, the winger has been a fixture.
Whether any of this lands well at the Metropolitano is another question. The fixture list will sort that out soon enough.
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