After months of negotiations, it seems like Barcelona may lose out on recruiting Leeds winger Raphinha to their squad, as Chelsea have entered the race to acquire the Brazilian late in the process. Various reports in England already claim that the Blues and Leeds have struck an agreement on a transaction for roughly €75 million.
To replace Ousmane Dembele, who will become a free agent once his contract expires on Friday, the Blaugrana had targeted Raphinha. It was Deco, Raphinha's agent, who had a major part in negotiating the player's contract with the Calatans back in March.
Neither Arsenal nor Tottenham were successful in securing a move for the Brazilian star after making bids that were rejected. Nonetheless, Chelsea have now emerged as the new leaders in the race.
Why Barcelona seem destined to miss out on Raphinha
Xavi and Barcelona's technical team have been looking for a replacement for Dembele for a long time now, and Raphinha was the obvious choice. Although a deal had been very close to signing, it seems that the Brazilian is slipping away from Barcelona's grasp.
In the wake of Leeds's departure, the La Liga giants had been widely linked with a bid for the player, with them allegedly being his preferred destination. Despite this, Barca were unable to match the Whites' asking price for the 25-year-old, which opened the door for other teams to make a move.
Even with their best efforts, Xavi Hernandez's side have fallen short due to the club's financial problems this summer. It has been reported that Leeds have reached an agreement on a price with the Blues after being pleased with their first offer.
After Chelsea allegedly hijacked the deal, rumors surfaced that the Premier League team did not even bother to look at a proposition Barcelona had made to Raphinha. To back up the story, Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano says the Catalans attempted phoning Leeds with a new proposition, but the offer from Chelsea was too good for them to match.
