Barcelona have left Raphinha in a situation where he may end up choosing Chelsea or remaining at Leeds United.
Chelsea were believed to be leading the race for Leeds United star Raphinha, until Barcelona came back into the picture.
The Blues had previously hijacked the deal from Arsenal, as Leeds accepted a £60m bid from Chelsea.
The transfer took a twist when Deco, the agent of the Brazilian, was spotted at Barcelona’s office last week.
Raphinha had agreed personal terms with Barcelona in March and was keen on moving to the La Liga, but the La Liga club cannot match Chelsea’s offer, yet.
With pre-season training having resumed, clubs surely want to know the players that will be available or would leave this summer.
A decision over Raphinha has to be made in the coming days, and Leeds boss Jesse Marsch has said there’s ‘urgency’ from Raphinha’s side to come up with a ‘solution’ to the player’s future as the transfer saga surrounding the winger rumbles on.
Addressing Raphinha’s future, Marsch said: “It hasn’t been an easy time for him this summer, things have come and gone and there’s been a lot of little discussions.
“Right now he’s our player, he showed up today [Thursday] and trained with everybody. He had such a good attitude. We had a very open and honest conversation about while he’s here he’s part of us and we’ll see what happens.
“There’s still a long way to go in the transfer window, I know he has hopes and dreams and we’ll see how everything goes.
“I said to him, I know he loves this team, this club and being here but we’ll see how things progress day by day.
“I think we just have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of days. There’s urgency from his end I think to come up with a solution and then we have to see where things stand and then make that decision.”
Chelsea remains the only club to have reached an agreement with Leeds United for Raphinha, and the Brazilian may be left with no other option than to join Chelsea or remain at Elland Road.
there are many players. I wonder why should we beg for this man. we need players who love the club