Raphinha has said former Barcelona head coach Xavi did not trust him and that he considered leaving for the Saudi Pro League last summer.
The Brazil international joined Barcelona from Leeds United in July 2022 and this season has scored 31 goals and provided 25 assists across all competitions as Barcelona lead La Liga.
Raphinha is likely to be among the frontrunners for this year’s Ballon d’Or award while Barca lead Real Madrid by four points in La Liga, are in the Champions League semi-finals and have won both the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana.
While he is excelling under Hansi Flick, Raphinha said that he was unable to convince the current head coach’s predecessor Xavi, under whom he started just 17 league matches last term.
“I felt like the coach (Xavi) and his staff did not trust me,” Raphinha told Isabela Pagliari in an interview released on Monday.
“When there was nobody else to play, they would let me play 90 minutes. I would gave all I had in me and made the difference in some games, but when they had the chance to put another player in my place, the coach would do it with no hesitation.
“Sometimes, I also felt I was doing everything right but he’d take me off after 60 minutes.
“I tried to fix it, I had multiple chats with Xavi, but I realise they made no difference. He had his own way of seeing things.”
Raphinha had a heated exchange of words with Xavi’s brother and assistant, Oscar Hernandez, in April 2024, when he was substituted during a match against Valencia. After the final whistle, Xavi reprimanded Raphinha and told him he would not play the next game as “there are attitudes that can’t be allowed”.
Raphinha previously admitted that he thought about leaving Barcelona as early as his first season and said on Monday that he considered moving to Saudi Arabia last summer, even speaking with Brazil teammate Neymar, who was playing there for Al Hilal at the time.
“Last summer I was thinking to leave Barca and join the Saudi league,” he said. “I spoke with Neymar about the country, competitions — but my wife changed my mind.”
Barcelona take on Inter in the Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday, with the tie poised at 3-3 on aggregate.
(Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)