Raphinha: ‘In my head I was leaving Barça, but a few small words can change you’

Two years ago the Brazilian thought his time at Barcelona was ending but, two La Liga titles later, he is now captain and the most potent No 9 in Europe For once, Raphael Dias Belloli puts the brakes on.

The man who seems to be in perpetual motion, a footballer forever on fast forward, pauses, goes quiet for a moment and then, softly, utters something that says so much: “I think maybe people saw in me something I didn’t realise was there. ” He did not know he was a leader, but he likes it. He did not know he was a captain, but according to his manager he is the “perfect captain”. And he did not know he was a No 9 either, but right now he is the best No 9 there is. In Barcelona or anywhere. There was a time when Raphinha did not know whether he would be in Barcelona, when, feeling unwanted, he had accepted it was over, but this week he…