Barcelona star admits he ‘thought about leaving’ during the summer | OneFootball

Barcelona star Raphinha has on Wednesday confirmed that he gave real consideration to departing the club over the summer.

This came amid unrelenting speculation surrounding his future in Catalunya’s capital.

Wide-man Raphinha, for his part, has of course spent the early weeks of the new season solidifying himself as one of the first names on the team sheet of new boss Hansi Flick.

Looking like a player reborn amid Flick’s more direct approach, the Brazilian has dazzled both in a central role, and out wide on the left.

As much has given rise to a haul of 17 direct goal contributions, in just 14 appearances across all competitions.

As alluded to above, though, had things played out a little differently over the summer, then Raphinha could well have found himself plying his trade away from Barcelona.

Speaking during an interview with ‘Losimplenovale’, as cited by Diario Sport, on Wednesday, the 27-year-old was drawn on the rampant speculation surrounding his name.

And Raphinha went on to admit that, at one point in the summer, he gave serious thought to a transfer:

“I thought about leaving, because I’m sure of my potential, and if they don’t want me I’ll leave. One day my wife and I talked at home about all the options and we talked about everything I could do here. There was still a lot to do at Barça, and I had more years left on my contract.

“I had come to make history, and I wanted to show people that they should trust me,” he concluded.

Conor Laird – GSFN