Barcelona
Barcelona

Raphinha’s performance in Barcelona’s 2-1 La Liga loss to Rayo Vallecano enraged the fans, who held nothing back against the winger. Vallecano took the lead in the first half thanks to Alvaro Garcia Rivera, and Fran Garcia made it 2-0 in the second half. While Robert Lewandowski pull one back for Barcelona, it only proved to be a consolation.

Barcelona blew the chance to open a 14-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, pinning the nail in the slim hopes of the Los Blancos to catch up with their rivals. While Carlo Ancelotti’s side were defeated 4-2 by Girona, the Blaugrana were also shocked by Vallecano. Xavi’s team now have 76 points after 31 games.

Barcelona
Barcelona fans were unhappy with the dismal performance of Raphinha in their 2-1 defeat against Rayo Vallecano. Credits: Twitter

Barcelona looking to sell Raphinha in the summer

Raphinha, on the other hand, was the player who drew the most criticism. During the match against Vallecano, the Brazilian winger completed 0 dribbles and made no good crosses. The right-hand side of Barcelona was looking paralyzed, as it created no real threat for the home side.

Since club Lionel Messi left them in the summer of 2021, Barcelona had pinned their hopes on Raphinha to stable their right flank. However, as it turns out, too much was expected from the ex-Leeds winger, who has switched on and off throughout the season. And fans were again slamming the attacker for his latest performance:

However, Raphinha’s struggles go beyond just one game, as despite a fairly decent 9 goals and 10 assists in 41 games, the Brazilian has been transfer-listed by the Catalan club, 12 months after they bought him for £55m from Leeds United. Barcelona have put the word out about their plans to offload the 26-year-old, with Newcastle United firmly interested to bring him back to the Premier League.

The Magpies are on cloud nine following their 6-1 thrashing of Tottenham on Sunday, which propelled them to third place in the Premier League, leapfrogging Manchester United, who were playing Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final. However, the Tyneside outfit is not resting on its laurels and is planning ambitions for the summer transfer window as it approaches Champions League qualification.

According to Mundo Deportivo, a transfer for Raphinha is in the works after the club expressed interest in the Brazilian winger last year. It is being claimed that figures at St James’ Park have been watching him. And with Barcelona’s financial crisis well-known, the club would readily green-light a potential sale, should they be able to recoup anything around the £55m fee he was bought for.