From open door to contract extension offer
Only a few weeks ago, FC Barcelona were still willing to hear offers for Raphinha. Saudi Arabia had come calling again, and a major sale would have eased a set of accounts nobody at the club would pretend were healthy. The window has shut without a transfer. According to AS, the Blaugrana board are now preparing the opposite: a new contract offer, and quickly.
The Brazilian is tied to Barca until June 2028. So the club is under no pressure to act now. Barcelona, though, want to add two more seasons and keep him until 2030. Deco has not tried to hide it: the sporting director has already announced talks with the player are on the way.
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A captain who has become hard to replace
The U-turn is mainly down to what Raphinha has become in Catalonia. Fifth season, 83 goals and 60 assists in 182 matches. The armband. And a false nine role he had never played anywhere else, used so often that his absence now comes at a price.
The start to the season has only sharpened the point. Six goals in the first four La Liga games. According to Opta, only one other player had managed that for Barca in the 21st century: Lionel Messi, in 2012-2013 and then again in 2013-2014. It is flattering company. It also says plenty about how much the 29-year-old winger has carried the Catalan attack over the past month.
More competition up front, no change in the pecking order
Barca did spend this summer to thicken their attacking options. Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus arrived in a full rethink of the front line. Hansi Flick has not cut Raphinha’s importance, and neither has Deco.
Still, nothing suggests an agreement is close. The player may wait and see how the club’s sporting project develops before signing on for another four years. Barca, for their part, have made one thing clear: they do not want any more uncertainty around their captain.
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