Barcelona want to sign Raphinha for unrealistic low price, Leeds United want double
Barcelona and Leeds United are “quite far apart” on their valuations for Raphinha as negotiations over the Brazilian begin in earnest, according to Sport.
The Catalans apparently still want to take the Whites star for the price he would have been available for in the event of Premier League relegation.
But after a 2-1 victory at Brentford on the final day kept the club in the top flight United are unsurprisingly looking to “take advantage” of that and demand more.
According to Sport in Spain, those in the offices in the Camp Nou still want to bring the price down to around £25million.
Their starting point is reportedly “around half” of what Leeds are after for a player who is apparently set on making the move to La Liga.
The 25-year-old had a release clause, or an agreement with the club, that he would be available for the relatively modest fee had they gone down, but there is no equivalent now that top flight status has been secured.
No way
Even the apparent Elland Road position of around £50million is low for a player that has two years left on his contract and is now an established international.
His age would give him plenty of years at the top level so there is no reason for the club to capitulate to Barca.
The Blaugrana have had financial difficulties that are well documented, but they continue to do plenty of business in the transfer market.
If they are hoping that a desire from the player to make the deal happen provides them with a discount then the decision makers at Leeds need to make clear that won’t happen.
It is true that he is earned his chance at a bigger club after 11 Premier League goals and three assists in what turned out to be a nightmare year.
But his loss will inevitably weaken the team so they have to ensure they are compensated adequately in order to find a replacement.
Logically there is no chance that the price will be reduced to what the buyers want, but the potential for a messy fall out if Raphinha becomes frustrated isn’t a positive prospect.
It is Barcelona’s responsibility to come up with a way to pay what he’s worth, so it is them he should blame if they fail to do so.
In other Leeds United news, a concerning trend is developing as the club appear to be willing to accept an offer of lower than they should be able to get for another key member of the first team.