It may only be four games, but few are in doubt that Brazilian winger Raphinha is in the best form of his Barcelona career. The 27-year-old was recently selected as one of five captains in the squad by his teammates too.
Scoring his first ever hat-trick on Saturday against Real Valladolid, also notching an assist, his third of the campaign after providing goals against Valencia and Rayo Vallecano. Raphinha told RAC1 (as quoted by Marca) that it had given him confidence, being elected one of the group’s leaders.
“After reading that you’re leaving, that the club doesn’t count on you, after hearing the press speak badly about you… I would never have imagined being one of the captains of Barca. I’m very excited. Inside the dressing room, people trust in me. This moves you and makes you feel more important.”
However Raphinha has admitted that he considered leaving the club, amid plenty of speculation that Barcelona were keen to move him on over the last two years. The former Leeds United winger explained that he had struggled with the mental side of football.
“If you work hard and want to have a football career, you have to not give up. I have had many reasons to give up, put football aside and move on with my life. It is a profession that destroys you. I have had moments when I came home and I didn’t know if I would get up in the morning to come to train again.”
Juvenil winger Jan Virgili is training under Hansi Flick's orders today. Via @scapde_45 pic.twitter.com/WlIripZzh3
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 3, 2024
“I have cried a lot, also here. I do psychological work because I have seen that it is very important for everyone to do because it helps a lot. Football destroys you. It’s very easy to go into depression and leave everything.”
Hansi Flick seems to have the most confident Raphinha yet in his Barcelona side, but from the sound of it, the most important thing is that he sounds like he is mentally in the right place to take on the challenge of playing for Barcelona. A number of stars have struggled at the club, and in all likelihood, the public only get half of the story when it comes to what the players are going through, as evidenced by Bojan Krkic’s battles with mental health.
