Raphinha has become a trending name in the FC Barcelona squad and, why not, also in world football. The Porto Alegre native, after a summer filled with rumors about his departure from the Culé team, managed to secure a place in the starting eleven of Barça, earning the trust of coach Hansi Flick and displaying an extraordinary level of play by moving from the right wing to a position between the attacking midfield and the left wing. Currently, he has scored nine goals and provided eight assists in the 13 matches that the Blaugrana have played so far in the 2024-25 season.
Precisely, Raphinha's latest masterpiece was against Bayern Munich, a team that has been one of the great 'bogeymen' of FC Barcelona in recent history. In the recent UEFA Champions League match, he managed to score a historic hat-trick, probably delivering one of his best performances as a player for the Catalan team that will be remembered.
However, amidst the attention on Bayern Munich and Raphinha, a peculiar situation arises. A story from 2022 has been recalled where the right winger could have become a player for 'Die Roten'.
The story behind Raphinha's failed transfer to Bayern Munich in 2022
According to Brazilian media, in January 2022, Bayern Munich was looking for a right winger as a precaution in case of the possible departure of Kingsley Coman, whose contract had not been renewed and there were speculations about his free departure in that summer. Media outlets like 'TNT Sports Brasil' or 'Sports Mole' indicated that the Bavarian team considered Raphinha as a potential reinforcement, who at that time was valued at around €50 million, a figure close to what Barcelona paid for him: €58 million fixed plus eight in variables.
However, this move did not materialize because Kingsley Coman and Bayern Munich ended up reaching an agreement to renew his contract, a matter that was finalized on January 12, 2022. This development reduced Raphinha's interest from the Munich team and left him at Leeds United until that summer when Barcelona eventually secured his services.
Since then, although in his first two seasons at Barcelona he generated some doubts due to certain irregularities in his game, his current performance makes it clear that he is in his best form, and the increase in his sporting performances gives the impression of having no visible limits.