Raphinha revealed that it was due to his dream to play for Barcelona the main reason for rejecting Chelsea back in 2022.

Raphinha has been one of the top signings for Barcelona in recent memory, with the Brazilian proving his worth last season in the real sense. Back in 2022, he was a Leeds United player, and after helping the club avoid relegation, he was ready to make his big career move.

It was public knowledge back then that he dreamt of playing for Barcelona, and the Spanish giants were indeed interested. Financial constraints back then probably prevented the Catalans from making an offer that was acceptable for Leeds United based on the Brazilian’s valuation at the time.

A host of Premier League sides were keen, including Arsenal and Chelsea. It was the latter that made an official bid and even agreed on a fee with Leeds United. Barcelona kept tabs on the situation and managed to convince the Brazilian on the move, and they did finalise terms in the process with Leeds United for much less than what the Blues were prepared to pay for him.

The player’s choice obviously played a massive role in forcing Leeds United to accept Barcelona’s bid for Raphinha. Now, on the eve of playing against Chelsea in the Champions League, Raphinha was asked about why he rejected a move to Stamford Bridge.

The Barcelona star, in his comments on Fabrizio Romano’s post on X, insisted that it was his dream of playing for the Catalan giants that helped make up his mind back in 2022 to join the Spanish side over Chelsea.

Raphinha said, “Picking Barça ahead of Chelsea in 2022? I was 100% sure of what I wanted”.

“My plan was to fulfill my dream of wearing the Barça shirt, and that’s why I trusted and why I’m here today wearing the Barça shirt”.

Raphinha has been a solid signing for Barcelona despite his struggles in the first two seasons at the club. After putting in decent displays and numbers, the Brazilian truly broke out for the club in the 2024-25 campaign, especially in the Champions League as Barcelona reached the semifinals of the competition.

Raphinha scored 34 goals and provided 26 assists across all competitions for Barcelona, and was in the top 10 of the Ballon d’Or nominations recently. He has had a relatively slow start to life this season, but still a very important player for the Catalans in the season ahead.