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La Liga giants FC Barcelona confirmed that the club has reached an agreement in principle with the Premier League club Leeds United for the transfer of Raphinha. The Brazilian winger is expected to play at the Camp Nou next season as soon as he passes the medical.
After the Brazilian has decided to not attend the premier league club's pre-season tour, Leeds coach Jesse Marsch had said, “I’m hopeful for him to get this deal done because I know it’s his dream to play for Barcelona.”
The 25-year-old winger is highly talented in one-on-one dribbling, which suits the Catalans' gameplay perfectly. Before he was linked to Barcelona, the Brazilian was close to signing for the Premier League giants Chelsea.
According to football journalist Fabrizio Romano, Barca are set to pay a flat fee of €58 million and €10 million in performance-based add-ons for Raphinha, who will join until June 2027.
Meanwhile, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed the signing of Raphinha and French forward Ousmane Dembele. He said, "Yes, this week we’ll sign and present Raphinha and Ousmane Dembélé."
Raphinha started his career at the Portuguese side Vitòria Guimaraes in 2016 and then moved to Sporting Clube de Portugal for 6.5 million euros in 2018. Next year, the Brazilian winger joined the French club Stade Rennais and moved to Leeds United in 2020.