Newcastle United join Barcelona in hunt to sign Leeds United star Raphinha
Newcastle United want to sign Leeds United winger Raphinha in the summer and are planning to blow Barcelona out of the water, according to The Sunday People.
The newspaper reported via their print edition on 15 May [page 53] that Barcelona have made no secret of their desire to sign the 25-year-old Brazil international and while they have more of an appeal than Newcastle, the billionaire-owned Magpies can offer way more money.
It is understood that Raphinha will consider his options in the coming weeks but is expected to quit Elland Road regardless of whether the Whites are relegated to the Championship or manage to stay in the Premier League.
Summer saga?
Why would Raphinha choose Newcastle over Leeds?
Let’s be honest, Raphinha could have stayed at Rennes and played in the Champions League but decided to join a newly-promoted Leeds who aren’t known for splashing the cash on wages.
Raphinha is someone who knows a big club when he sees it and in terms of size, Newcastle would be a sideways step.
Joining Barcelona would be massive for a Brazilian player due to the success that Raphinha’s fellow countrymen have had there over the years.
Plus, his agent is ex-Barca star Deco.
Raphinha’s too good for Newcastle and while the Magpies do have the potential to be a huge success in the coming years, they’re not there yet and they won’t get there any time soon.
Raphinha can join Barca this summer, instantly challenge for silverware and instantly play in Europe while also doing a whole load of good to his chances of playing for Brazil regularly.
In all honesty, if Raphinha quits Leeds this summer, we’d rather he went abroad so we didn’t have to see him playing for another team in England.
But, at the end of the day, money talks and if Newcastle do offer more money then it’s a deal that Leeds could push the winger towards accepting as it’ll put us in a better position financially.
Raphinha’s future is going to be the talk of the summer, we can see it coming already.
Let’s hope this doesnt develop into a saga.
In other Leeds United news, Joe Gelhardt has been told to quit Elland Road by this Sky Sports pundit after a huge story emerged from The Telegraph.