Chelsea are expected to sign off the deal for Raphinha, as the deal enters its final stages.
Chelsea had gate-crashed Arsenal’s bid to sign Raphinha from Leeds United after agreeing a £60million deal for the Brazilian.
Arsenal were believed to be leading the race for Raphinha and held talks with Leeds United on Tuesday.
However, the Gunners initial offer was rejected by Leeds, before Chelsea came into the race and upped their offer which was immediately accepted by Leeds.
The deal took a new twist, after Raphinha’s agent Deco was spotted at Barcelona’s office.
Raphinha had agreed personal terms with Barcelona in March and was keen on moving to the La Liga, before Barca’s financial troubles got worse off.
Spanish reporter Gerard Romero had claimed that Barcelona were still in the race to sign Raphinha from Leeds United, despite Chelsea’s offer being accepted by Leeds.
Deco was spotted leaving Barcelona’s offices alongside the club’s director of football Mateu Alemany and Enric Masip, advisor to Barca president Joan Laporta.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has now given the final verdict on Barcelona’s plans to hijack the Raphinha deal from Chelsea.
Romano confirmed Barca actually tried to hijack the deal with a late bid, but it was rejected by Leeds.
Leeds would rather honour Chelsea’s bid than Barcelona’s verbal bid, as the Catalan club are still struggling with their finances.