Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Raphinha admits exit thoughts

Barcelona forward Raphinha has told ESPN he considered leaving the club on several occasions during his first two seasons.

The 27-year-old has been one of Barça’s best players this year, starring with a hat trick in the 4-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich, but there have been tough times since he joined from Leeds United in 2022.

Raphinha struggled to adapt to his new surroundings after joining Barça. He suffered injury problems in his second season and then had to put up with speculation that the club wanted to move him on.

“Man, there were several moments, not just one [when I considered leaving Barça],” he told ESPN ahead of Saturday’s trip to Real Madrid for the first Clásico of the season.

“My first six months here, the period from the summer transfer window until the World Cup, was a season in which I didn’t have the best of starts, so it crossed my mind to leave the club.

“There was a lot of self doubt. I have a nasty habit of criticising myself heavily, so to speak, so that pressure made me think about leaving.

“Then, obviously, after the World Cup I had a huge turnaround, managing to put up great numbers in six months.

“Last season, after the injuries I had, the sending off [against Getafe in the first game of the campaign], and also at the end of the season, seeing a lot of things that the club wanted to sell me, that the fans wanted me to leave, it also ends up crossing your mind to leave, to go somewhere where there’s no pressure.”

Raphinha said he was especially upset by fans buying Barça shirts with his No. 11 on the back but the name of Nico Williams, the Athletic Club winger who was rumoured to be his replacement last summer.

Speaking before the Bayern game this week, he said he felt “disrespected” and “hurt” when he saw those shirts, but he has responded on the pitch since the start of the season.

The Brazil international has dazzled in a new position, starting on the left with the freedom to come inside, and has scored nine goals and laid on nine assists in 13 appearances in all competitions.

“But football is no fun without pressure,” he added when reflecting on his decision to stay and fight for his place under new coach Hansi Flick.

“Football has to have a little pressure. I’ve always dreamed of playing for big clubs, playing big games for the national team, and you can’t realise those dreams without pressure, the pressure comes with it.

“So, thank God, I didn’t let myself get carried away by those thoughts that, naturally, end up going through your head. I just focused on working hard and adapting to the new roles I’d have to play on the pitch.”

Barça travel to the Bernabéu this weekend with a three point lead over Madrid at the top of the table.

It will be Flick’s first Clásico in the dugout since taking over as Barça coach in the summer.

The German has made an impressive start, winning 11 of his opening 13 games in all competitions, but he knows defeat to Madrid can quickly change things given the magnitude of the rivalry.

“It’s nice, but I know my job and that everything is about the results,” he said in a news conference on Friday when asked about the praise he has received.

“When you win, it’s good; when you don’t win, not too good. We have to focus about our performance, ideas, passion and how we want to play [on Saturday].

“This is why we are playing football, why we give everything, to win the Clásico. When you start to play football, you want to play the Clásico.

“It’s the real Clásico. In Germany, we also have some Clásicos, but it’s not the same as Barça against Real. This is the Clásico. So everyone is happy and they have to enjoy it and to enjoy it you have to work hard.”

One aspect of Barça’s style under Flick has been their high line, with his team having the highest average defensive block in LaLiga at 61 yards from their goal when the ball is in the opposition’s half.

That strategy will be tested by Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior’s pace in behind, but Flick insists his team will remain true to their ideas.