Raphinha has received a mouth-watering offer from Arsenal. The Reds are willing to offer him a 60 million euro deal to join them. However, it seems now that Raphinha is keen to play for Barcelona until his contract expires. There is still a lot of considerable time left in the transfer window and you never know, the decisions made can even be changed very soon.
After successfully signing an Italian veteran defender Riccardo Calafiori and a young talented goalkeeper from Ajax. Tommy Setford; Arsenal is now pushing to sign a potential attacker and they feel Raphinha could be the best possible option for them.
Raphinha is currently with the Barcelona squad in the United States for their typical pre-season schedule. They have matches against the top clubs like Manchester City and also there’s a clash against their biggest domestic rivals Real Madrid. According to Sport, Raphinha was asked several questions about his future when he arrived in the United States; the Brazilian firmly responded by exclaiming his desire to play a key part in Hansi Flick’s squad.
Bigger Picture for Raphinha
The main question now arises for Raphinha, it will be his call to choose between Barcelona or play for the Gunners. Although several reports claim that he has rejected the offer and continues to be a Barca player for the next season. He believes that helping Barca to again clinch the La Liga title.
In the 87 appearances, Raphinha has been able to net 20 goals and also provide 25 assists. His time at Barcelona has been filled with a lot of injuries. He shows great quality on and off the ball as he possesses excellent pressing skills too. If Raphinha had decided to join Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta he would have been given a role to combine with Martin Odegard and Bukayo Saka would have been instructed to create attacks from the flanks as usual.
Raphinha’s addition under Mikel Arteta’s squad could be a crucial one as Arsenal searches for the Premier League title which they lost just by two points to the defending English champions Manchester City. The blue jersey team finished on 91 whereas the Gunners could only manage up to 89 points. Raphinha might have also thought about Barcelona’s long Champions League title drought and their currently being linked with Nico Willams is great news for the club too.
Other Clubs Interested in Raphinha
Not only the clubs in Europe, but the major Saudi clubs were interested in signing Raphinha too. Saudi elites, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and also Karim Benzema’s Al Ittihad showed a keen interest in signing the former Leeds United striker due to his impressive playing style.
These clubs were offering him a salary worth about 80 million euros or close to the figure as reported by several journalists, A deal with one of these Saudi clubs would have been a real big-money move for the Brazilian making him one of the highest-paid players in the Saudi League after the likes of Ronaldo, Neymar and Benzema. However, the Brazilian veteran has firmly rejected this offer too.
Understandably, there is a lot more for him to prove in Europe, and taking an exit from European football at the current stage cannot be considered an option even if the amount offered is very high.
For More Great Content
Total Apex is an all-encompassing content producer. We provide heavily detailed articles every day on entertainment, gaming, sports, and so much more! Check out all our great sports content at Total Apex Sports. Check us out on our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
