RAPHINHA has opened the door on his transfer to Barcelona and revealed the reason he rejected a move to Chelsea.
The winger completed a £57million move to Barcelona from Leeds United over the summer.
In doing so, he rejected an offer from Chelsea which saw The Blues miss out on one of their main targets.
However, Raphinha has revealed there was nothing they could do as it was his dream to play for Barcelona.
As quoted by BarcaTimes, he said: “I rejected Chelsea because my dream was to wear the Barcelona shirt.”
The Brazilian also revealed he spoke to compatriot Neymar about his future, with the PSG star telling him he would not regret a move to the Blaugrana.
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“I talked to Neymar about a move and he told me that if I get to Barcelona then I won’t regret and he was right,” he added.
But Barcelona is a club with the highest of standards, standards which have not been met in a number of years.
Yet amid the club’s fresh rebuild under Xavi, Raphinha revealed the atmosphere from the club had surprised him the most.
He said: “What surprised me in the club? Without a doubt the warm welcome of the fans, the coaching staff and the players, everyone is good and looking to help the new players.”
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The 25-year-old is one of numerous options the club now have at their disposal after a colossal rebuild effort.
Despite this, Raphinha has got off to a decent start, with a goal and assist in his opening four games at the club.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
