Leeds United: Barcelona crunch talks could be held Friday amid new Raphinha exit twist
Barcelona could be set for showdown talks with Ousmane Dembele on Friday (27 May) as they wait on a decision to sign Leeds United star Raphinha, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Spanish news outlet claims that Barca will only be able to sign the 25-year-old Brazil international if Dembele, 25, leaves the Nou Camp this summer with his contract expiring due to financial restraints in Catalonia.
It is understood that a new deal has been offered to Dembele and Barcelona want to know by the end of the week whether the France international is ready to sign it.
Mundo Deportivo claims that crunch talks could be held with Dembele as early as Friday in a bid to gain clarity on his situation at the Nou Camp.
However, there’s reportedly a feeling at Barca that Dembele will reject the contract and there’s said to be a “95 per cent chance” he leaves and frees up room for Raphinha to swap West Yorkshire for Spain.
Raphinha and his agent Deco are said to be waiting by the phone for a decision.
Freeing him up
If Dembele leaves Barcelona – and based on this update, he’s very likely to do just that – then it’ll free up a space in their squad and also the funds for Raphinha to head to the Nou Camp.
Once that happens, there’s no doubt that Barca and Leeds will enter negotiations.
It has been widely reported that Raphinha has already agreed personal terms with Barca.
On 17 May, Goal reported Raphinha has already agreed a package at the Nou Camp that will double what he currently earns on his deal at Elland Road.
And while money always talks in the world of football, there are other factors in this that mean that Raphinha’s time at Leeds United is surely coming closer to an end.
He’s just too good to be playing for a team that was almost relegated to the Championship.
Raphinha’s goals eventually dragged the Whites out of the bottom three and earned the club another year of Premier League football.
But this isn’t a player who should be doing that – he should be scoring goals to try and win silverware or gain his side a spot in European competition.
He’ll do that at Barcelona, there’s no doubt.
All we can hope now is that Leeds get a good fee for the Brazil international, who will be sadly missed but everyone at the club will be thrilled for once he moves on.
In other Leeds United news, Marcelo Bielsa really liked this £12.7million-rated Croatian who the Whites now want to sign.