Analysis: Keep or sell? The €60m conundrum that Barcelona are facing with Raphinha

Barcelona won’t be the most active in the transfer market this summer, but they will be one to watch. Their financial problems will prevent mass signings being made, although for now, only one is being targeted: Nico Williams.

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Williams has had a very strong Euro 2024, and is off a fantastic season with Athletic Club. He is willing to leave his hometown club to continue his career in Catalonia, meaning that it is up to Barcelona to find the money to trigger his €58m release clause. The likelihood is that a significant sale will be required because this can be done, or at the very least, one will be needed to balance the books after such a big outlay.

Right now, the prime candidate to be sold is Raphinha. If Williams joins, the Brazilian winger would find his pathway to the starting line-up completely blocked – by Lamine Yamal on the right, and Williams on the left. A player of his value is seen as no good to Barcelona on the bench, especially considering their financial woes. The Catalans have reportedly set their asking price at €60m.

While it’s understandable that Barcelona would not want to have such an asset adopting a rotation role, there is scope to suggest that losing Raphinha would be a massive blow for Los Blaugrana. Last season, he was very good, and he was one of their most decisive players throughout the campaign.

Thiago will be on 'practice' at Barça: he will help Flick to transfer concepts to the players. The Barça coach is pushing to incorporate him permanently into his staff, but for now he will help him for a few days/weeks. @ellarguero

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 10, 2024

It’s also important to consider that, going forward, Lamine Yamal should not be playing as often as he has done in the last 12 months. If he does so, injury problems will plague him, like they have done with Pedri. As such, it’s imperative that good backup options are on hand for Hansi Flick, and Raphinha is exactly that. Not only can be cover on the right, he’s shown himself more than capable on the left wing too. Barcelona would struggle to find an adequate replacement for Raphinha for the amount of money they’d receive for his sale.

Another thing that Barcelona need to consider is that it won’t be easy to convince Raphinha to leave, even if he were to be a backup option to Williams and Lamine Yamal. Right now, only Saudi Arabian clubs are showing concrete interest, and the 27-year-old attacker has no intention to moving to the Middle East at this stage of his career.

Before considering the sale of Raphinha, Barcelona need to look at selling players that are less essential than the Brazilian – one or two of the centre-backs should be moved on, especially if Mikayil Faye established himself during pre-season. There’s no doubt that the entire situation will be a tricky one for sporting director Deco to navigate.