One of the best Brazilian players in the 2024/25 season, Brazilian National Team Player Still Dreams of Winning the Champions League.
Forward Raphinha, from Barcelona and the Brazilian National Team, revealed that he was very close to playing for another country when he had not yet become a big star in world football. The player said that he had no hope of being called up to the Brazilian National Team while he was playing for Leeds United in 2020. That is why he considered accepting the invitation to become a naturalized citizen.
“Jorginho kept calling me. They had a spectacular project for me and, deep down, I still had that 1% hope of wearing the Brazilian National Team jersey. Luckily, my Italian passport was not ready, because I was practically selected for the 2021 Euro Cup, which Italy won”, said the forward in an interview with journalist Isabela Pagliari.
In August 2021, a month after the Azzurra’s title, Raphinha received his first call-up to the Brazilian national team. He said he was unaware of the list and only found out he had been called up when he started receiving congratulatory messages from friends and family.
Raphinha did not play professionally in Brazilian football. Between 2014 and 2016, he was part of the youth teams of Avaí and, at the age of 19, he transferred to Vitória de Guimarães, in Portugal. The Brazilian played for Sporting, also in Portugal, Rennes, in France, and Leeds United, in England, before signing with Barcelona, in Spain, in 2022.
For Barça, the forward has played 139 games, scored 51 goals and provided 50 assists. In the 2024/25 season, the player has already scored 31 goals and provided 25 assists in 52 matches. Raphinha is the club’s top scorer in the Champions League, with 12 goals in 13 games.
