Chelsea to have last laugh over Barcelona in race for Brazilian

Raphinha
Photo: Getty Images

With Chelsea leading the race for Raphinha a fortnight ago, Barcelona came in to hijack the deal.

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 on Wednesday.

Raphinha had agreed personal terms with Barcelona in March and was keen on moving to the La Liga, and Barcelona were banking on that to sign Raphinha.

However, Barcelona have failed to reach an agreement with Leeds for the transfer of Raphinha.

Barca’s latest offer for Raphinha has been rejected, leaving Chelsea as the only club to have reached an agreement with Leeds for Raphinha.

Despite the boasting of Barcelona president Joan Laporta, Raphinha may be left with no other option than to join Chelsea or remain at Elland Road.

Raphinha’s agent Deco, is seemingly tired of cash-strapped Barcelona’s plans to frustrate Chelsea’s deal for Leeds United star Raphinha.

According to reports from Brazil, Deco has now given Barcelona an ultimatum to agree a deal with Leeds United or he will reopen talks with Chelsea.

Raphinha has not been selected in Leeds’ pre-season tour and Leeds manager Jesse Marsch has also revealed that the winger’s situation should be sorted in no time.

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.”