Barcelona today met the Star Forward Raphinha agent to discuss a new deal. Raphinha leads Barcelona in terms of goals and assists this season together, and he has a career year in Catalonia.
According to Jijantes, director of Football Deco held a new meeting with his agent on a new deal on Friday. His current contract ends in 2027, which means that Barcelona would like to cash it in this summer, or tie him to a new deal.
Their information is that Deco discussed the basic principles of Raphinha's new deal with the club, although they note that the conversations are still in their early phases. The Blaugrana are pleased with both the attitude and the performance that Raphinha has shown in the past year.
This follows the opening round of conversations, when it was reported that Raphinha was not happy with the opening proposal of Barcelona for a new deal. It was noted that the Blaugrana wanted to extend its deal with a further season, with an option to extend it with another year, while Raphinha liked to be two more years. In the midst of the aforementioned Malcontent, Raphinha is now also on the radar of three Premier League -uprights.
The 28-year-old played an important role for Barcelona this season, scored 30 goals and gave 25 assists in just 51 games to date this season, but there were reports earlier in the year that some people in the club believed that this might be the best time to cash in Raphinha.
There is probably some truth in that idea, especially considering his age, but the question will be how Barcelona would replace the Brazilian. Raphinha fits in the ideas of Hansi Flick as a glove, and Barcelona does not seem to be in a financial position to bring in a talent that would offer his production, even if he takes something back next season.