Football is hardly a sport for the weak-hearted, and FC Barcelona is evidence of that. The pressures that are standard for a club as prestigious as the Catalan giants are not something most people can cope with. That is why Barcelona remains successful and relevant, because of the pressures and merit it maintains.
To arrive at Barcelona and perform is what is expected of the best players. Even in times of financial desperation, the club has decided to make some bets on players who they believed could make a difference. One such player is former Leeds United winger Raphinha, who Barça spent more than €60 million on in totality considering fixed and variable amounts.
However, it is also true that the Brazilian winger struggled a lot since then. In fact, according to Diario AS, the Brazilian winger’s confession that this pressure got to a point where he was struggling with his mental health and even considered leaving football as a whole, are clear indicators of what he was going through.
Yet, Raphinha’s struggles were not only mental by nature. They had their origin from somewhere, and that origin developed from sporting issues. The player was forced to play as a left-winger in his first season at the club, with former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez preferring to use Ousmane Dembele as his right-winger of choice.
Ever since his first season, Raphinha has had to live with the reality that he is not a guarantee at Barcelona. Whenever the club has needed players to use for their transfer operations, the Brazilian winger has been the player who knows he would definitely be on any such transfer list.
However, he wished to stay at the club and fight for his place on the right wing as a starter. Fortunately for him, Dembele ended up leaving and giving Raphinha that spot all for himself. Unfortunately for him, that was all the fortune that lady luck seemed to have for him. Injuries began to burden him, and the eruption of Lamine Yamal paralyzed him.
Now, despite being challenged once again, Raphinha remains clear about staying at Barcelona. The player wants to earn his spot both in the Brazilian National team and Barça as a starter, and it seems that while his desire remains clear, he will be exiled to a secondary role once again as Hansi Flick and the club wish to incorporate another winger in the summer.