Business would have continued as usual at Thorp Arch on Monday morning with recovery the order of the day after an intense three matches in seven days for Leeds United. Whether it was in the pool or on the massage table, Raphinha may have allowed his mind to wander to yesterday, but not for long when there is still work to be done in that white shirt.
It is hard to believe there will be any talk about the future from the 25-year-old this week when he still has a major role to play in keeping a club so close to his heart in the Premier League. Leeds will always be remembered as the stage he used to finally turn heads in his homeland.
Raphinha arrived in West Yorkshire as a rising star in European football, but will leave, whenever that may be, as a key player for the world’s most decorated national team. There are no guarantees he has played his last match at Elland Road, but it was hard to see him propped up against that goalpost after months of transfer speculation without joining the dots.
