Report Claims Barcelona Would Consider Offers Around €80 Million for Chelsea Target.
Earlier today, reports emerged claiming that Chelsea had rekindled their interest in signing Barcelona winger Raphinha ahead of the summer transfer window.
The Blues had gone toe-to-toe with Barcelona in the race for his signing last summer from Leeds United. But, ultimately, the Catalans prevailed due to the Brazilian’s insistence on joining them.
In his debut season at Barcelona, Raphinha has done fairly well, especially in recent months when Ousmane Dembele has been out injured.
Despite there being the need for Barcelona to sell players to balance their books in the summer, it has been reported that Raphinha is among those who will not be sold.
However, according to the latest reports from Ruben Uria of GOAL, Barcelona could open the door for the Brazilian’s departure, if an offer of around €80 million were to arrive.
The Blaugrana signed Raphinha for a fixed fee of €58 million plus another €7 million in add-ons, of which €4 million is said to be easily achievable. Barcelona handed him a five-year contract with a net salary of €6 million per year (€12 million gross).
Essentially, including the transfer fee and gross salary, Raphinha will cost Barça around €23.6 million per year (€11.6 million transfer fee/year + €12 million gross salary).
On July 1, the Brazilian will still have four years left on his contract with the club, which would mean that Barcelona would still have around €46 million pending in the amortization of his transfer fee, which is apart from his wages.
Hence, Barcelona will only consider selling Raphinha if they receive an offer worth around €80 million or more, in which case they can gain profits from the operation on the balance sheet.
As iterated earlier, Chelsea are interested in Raphinha. The Blues are understood to like the Brazilian despite being snubbed by him last summer. They had come close to signing him at that point and given his exploits for Leeds United in the past, could look for a move again.
Barcelona, for their part, are currently not actively looking to sell Raphinha and are happy with the winger. But if an offer around the €80 million mark comes along, the doors could open.