Arsenal’s Technical Director Edu has admitted that there was ‘interest’ from the North London club in Raphinha, but the Brazilian had his heart set on a move to Barcelona, which prevented any meaningful talks.
The Gunners were strongly linked with a move for the Leeds player before he completed his £55m switch to the Catalan giants last week. The 25-year-old was unveiled at Barcelona’s training ground on Friday before scoring on his debut in a pre-season-friendly victory over Real Madrid.
Raphinha quickly developed into a key player for Leeds after moving to Yorkshire from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes in 2020, scoring 17 goals and providing a further 12 assists in 65 appearances for the Whites. He also put in some key performances towards the end of last season to ensure the club avoided relegation from the Premier League.
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Arsenal and Chelsea seemed to be the Brazilian’s main pursuers in the Premier League, with Chelsea even reportedly agreeing to a fee with Leeds. Still, it was clear from early on in the summer where the 25-year-old wanted to be. Raphinha got his wish in the end with a move to the Camp Nou, but Edu revealed to Sky Sports that he had conversations with the player’s agent, Deco, but their intentions were clear.
Edu said: “We did have some conversations with his [Raphinha’s] agent because we have a good relationship; we are friends. I asked Deco if he could explain Raphinha’s situation to me, and he was clear.
“He said he would not lie to me and that Raphinha’s idea was always to go to Barcelona because that is his dream, and they had spoken to Barcelona for a long time before us. If that wasn’t the case, we might’ve explored and tried to understand the situation; if not, then no problem.”
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