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Oscar Haley

Raphinha Barcelona exit rumours intensify as ex-Leeds United star is benched for El Clasico

Speculation around former Leeds United winger Raphinha's Barcelona future has increased after the Brazilian international was left on the bench for El Clasico.

The Catalan giants faced off against Real Madrid out in Riyadh for the Spanish Super Cup, with Raphinha named amongst the substitutes for Xavi's side.

The Brazilian winger came on off the bench to replace Ousmane Dembele on 78 minutes as Barcelona claimed a comfortable 3-1 win over their fierce rivals.

READ MORE: Hoffenheim chief shares 'painful' experience of selling Georginio Rutter to Leeds United

While Barcelona spent a significant outlay on Raphinha in the summer, signing him from Leeds for a whopping £55m, the winger has underwhelmed during his time in Spain.

So far this season, he has made just seven starts in La Liga.

And now there appears to be interest in bringing him back to the Premier League from table toppers Arsenal after they missed out on Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who has agreed to join Chelsea.

Sky Sports report Arsenal are monitoring the 26-year-old's situation with Barcelona thought to be open to the idea of selling the Brazilian.

However, according to Spanish outlet Sport, they have since slapped a €100m price tag on Raphinha, which is roughly around £88m. Given Arsenal were unwilling to match Chelsea over Mudryk, it would seem unlikely they would go to that mark to sign Raphinha this month.

The Gunners were interested in the winger last summer prior to his move to the Nou Camp, and would like to strengthen their attack in January with Gabriel Jesus ruled out for the foreseeable future.

While a move back to Leeds would be impossible, it will be interesting to see just how Raphinha's future pans out after his underwhelming start to life in Spain following his big money summer move.

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