According to reports, a FC Barcelona star has ‘threatened to leave’ the Spanish giants for one key reason after Manchester United made a huge ‘offer.
Man Utd are currently focused on overhauling their attack after a dismal 2024/25 campaign, in which they only scored 28 goals from open play in the Premier League.
Their first summer signing, Matheus Cunha, is arguably an upgrade on their current No.10 options and the same can be said for Bryan Mbeumo, who is reportedly closing in on a move to Man Utd from Brentford.
These deals are a step in the right direction after a disastrous campaign, but the Red Devils still have loads to do if they are to return to challenging for the Premier League/Champions League within the next couple of seasons.
It has been widely reported that their failure to secure European qualification has left the Premier League giants with a limited budget, which admittedly will be boosted if they manage to cash in on Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and/or Antony.
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Still, Man Utd are far from the stage where they can secure a £100m+ statement signing, a la Liverpool with Florian Wirtz, but this has not prevented the Spanish press from spouting some fanatical nonsense regarding a move for Raphinha.
The former Leeds United star is a credible contender for this year’s Ballon d’Or, so a downwards step to Man Utd should be the furthest thing from his mind.
Despite this, a recent report claimed Man Utd have tested the waters with an audacious £127m bid for Raphinha, and an update on Thursday suggested some ‘voices’ at Barcelona consider this to be the ‘perfect move’.
It does not take a genius to work out that the Red Devils realistically have no chance of signing Raphinha at this point, but he is at least said to be ‘very upset and annoyed’ at Barcelona.
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According to a report in Spain, Raphinha is feeling this way because he has ‘expressed his displeasure’ at Barcelona signing Nico Williams.
Barcelona have fended off competition from Arsenal and Bayern Munich to land their long-term target, who Fabrizio Romano confirms has reached an ‘agreement’ over a six-year contract.
He tweeted: “Nico Williams and Barça have agreed personal terms on 6 year deal!
“Agreement sealed on player’s contract until June 2031 with the salary in the region of €7/8m net per season. Barça are currently working on financial terms to get deal done with Athletic.”
The report in Spain suggests Williams’ imminent move to Barcelona has pushed Raphinha to ‘threaten to leave’ because he ‘doesn’t approve’ of the signing as he fears dropping in the pecking order.
The report claims:
‘According to sources close to the club , Raphinha has expressed his displeasure to the club’s management. Although he hasn’t submitted a formal request to leave, he has made it clear that if he loses prominence in the coming months, he will seriously consider his future. The situation has generated tension within the Barcelona team.’
South American journalist Miguel Angel Lopez has provided more details on Man Utd’s interest in Raphinha, claiming they would have made a move had they qualified for the Champions League.
He revealed: “Manchester United were ready to push to sign Raphinha from Barcelona this summer
“Ruben Amorim is a massive fan of Raphinha. Manchester United failing to qualify for the UCL negatively affected their budget and also ruined any chance of signing the Brazilian.”
