Barcelona are now worried about Raphinha’s poor run of form after a good start in the pre-season.
Many people found the fact that Leeds United had acquired Raphinha puzzling. The 25-year-old Brazilian has previously shown off his talents in the English Premier League, but Barcelona was aware that there is still more work to be done before he performs at his best.
The Brazilian winger got off to a good start. Early indications, particularly in preseason, were encouraging, raising the possibility that the €48 million Barcelona paid Leeds United for his transfer would be justified this season.
Raphinha astonished everyone with his intense training sessions once the true test had arrived following the preseason friendlies.
When the 25-year-old returned with favorable GPS field data, his coaches cheered him on.
Raphinha has only scored one goal and contributed just two assists since his comeback two months ago, despite playing frequently for the first team. Because he had more than ample time to return with improved stats, the tacticians are now becoming concerned.
The management is more dissatisfied than concerned about the low numbers, particularly after he missed an opportunity to score against Valencia, a match in which he later helped Robert Lewandowski score the game’s winning goal.
The mystery surrounding Raphinha, according to Diario AS, is that despite being undefeated in practice, he is not translating everything during the official games. Not only did this cause him to lose his spot, but it also made Xavi change the way he plays.
When Raphinha and Ousmane Dembele are lined up together, Barcelona finds it difficult to maintain the tempo since they frequently turn over the ball. As a result, Xavi has chosen to drop a winger entirely in favor of a fourth midfielder.
The squad may play more evenly and with greater control and steadiness in this fashion.
There is no question that Barcelona has full faith in Raphinha for the time being, despite the obvious difficulties, since they are certain that sooner or later, the winger would realize his full potential under Xavi.
