Leeds United have Marcelo Bielsa to thank for £38m Premier League profit | OneFootball

Leeds United pulled off a blinder by signing Raphinha, who eventually netted the club a huge profit when he left for Barcelona

Leeds United's misspending in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign proved fatal, but before that, inspired business was conducted on several occasions and the signing of Raphinha stands out in particular.

The Whites' long-awaited promotion from the Championship under iconic Argentine boss Marcelo Bielsa back in 2020 will always live long in the memories of Leeds supporters, many of whom waited 16 long years before eventually seeing their club return to the promised land.

Leeds' 2019/20 title-winning campaign preceded an immediate spending spree, which initially paid dividends as they secured a 10th-placed finish in their first season back. But those levels were not reached again and Leeds only survived on the final day of the following season before falling back into the Championship after three years.

Across that timespan, the West Yorkshire club spent an eye-watering total of €272 million (£234m) according to data from the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) - via LeedsLive - and only last September, their three-year outlay represented the tenth-highest net spend in world football since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of course, Leeds squandered a significant amount of that on the likes of Jean-Kevin Augustin, Diego Llorente and Helder Costa, but the decision to spend just £17 million on Raphinha back in 2020 proved to be an absolute masterstroke.

Leeds United played a blinder with £17 million Raphinha deal

It's easy to get caught up in Leeds' erroneous misspending at times, but they're deserving of immense credit for even convincing a player of Raphinha's quality to join the club in the first place, let alone acquiring him at such a cheap cost and netting an outstanding profit two years later.

Raphinha joined for a not-insignificant £17 million sum from Rennes ahead of Leeds' first season in the Premier League, and it became abundantly clear pretty early on that they had struck gold.

The Brazilian winger dazzled with his blistering speed, tricky feet and creativity, proving a real handful for opposition full-backs. He scored six goals and set up a further nine in his first year in Yorkshire, and he was able to leave the Elland Road crowd in awe during his second.

Unfortunately, Raphinha's haul of eleven strikes and three assists was not enough to keep the Whites in the Premier League, but their relegation was no slight on him whatsoever and he deservedly earned a blockbuster move to Barcelona in July 2022.

Raphinha was never going to come cheap, and Leeds were able to collect a cool £38 million profit when he joined Barcelona for £55 million.

They can surely thank Bielsa for initially bringing Raphinha to Leeds, a decision which allowed them to boast such a breathaking talent for two seasons before profiting significantly, at least in a financial sense, from his eventual departure.

Raphinha's Barcelona fortunes further highlight Leeds United transfer success

If Leeds required any reminder of just how well they did with the Raphinha deal, the career trajectory he's embraced since moving to Spain provides any remaining evidence.

The 29-cap Brazil international has been among Barcelona's best players ever since. He racked up double digits for both goals and assists in his first two full campaigns with Barça, helping them to their first La Liga triumph in four years during his opening campaign.

Going from Leeds to Barcelona was an enormous leap of faith, but Leeds supporters always knew he had the quality to meet the challenge and flourish on the grandest stages, which he's certainly done.

Raphinha is immensely talented and his success with Barcelona does make you realise just how fortunate Leeds were to have a player of his quality in their ranks, especially when they were battling against relegation in his second and final year with the club.

He's gone to an even higher level this season for Barcelona after being named as one of Hans-Dieter Flick's five captains at the start of the campaign alongside Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri.

The Barca dynamo's finest hour so far this term came as he captained and orchestrated the side to a commanding 4-1 triumph over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, taking home the matchball after scoring a hattrick.

Leeds supporters will be full of pride to see their former starlet pulling up trees on club football's premiere podium and becoming, many would argue, one of the finest wingers on the globe. Indeed, it further goes to show the masterstroke which Leeds and Bielsa managed to execute four years ago.