Raphinha opens up on his rocky relationship with former Barcelona coach Xavi | OneFootball

There is no doubt that Raphinha has been one of the most important players for FC Barcelona this season. In fact, the Brazilian forward has been one of the best players in Europe and Spain this year, and is one of the favorites to win the next Ballon d’Or award.

However, his entire career in a Blaugrana shirt has not been that good, as he could not show himself to be such a good player in his first two seasons.

Raphinha opens up on his relationship with Xavi Hernandez

Now, speaking in an interview, the Barcelona star could have revealed the reason why he was not able to showcase his actual abilities in these first two seasons.

Xavi Hernandez was his head coach in these two years, and as SPORT has reported, Raphinha made some surprise revelations on how he did not have a very good relationship with the former Blaugrana coach.

The Brazilian was clear that Xavi did not trust him:

“I felt that neither he nor the coaching staff trusted me. When there was no one else, I was there and played the full 90 minutes. I gave everything I had to give and solved matches, but when there was someone else who could play in my place, he would put them in without hesitation… Sometimes, I was doing everything in just 60 minutes and he would take me off.”

Raphinha recounted one particular match in which his substitution made him quite angry:

“There’s an iconic video where I explode when I get to the bench and punch something. I think it was the match against Manchester United, where I was doing really well, scored a goal and provided an assist. I think it was 2-2 and he subbed me off. I had just created a very clear chance. I felt comfortable and was playing really well. And the first substitution was me. When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it.”

The winger went on to reveal how he tried to repair the situation but the relationship only worsened:

“I tried to fix it, I had several conversations with him, but I saw that they didn’t make any difference. He had his own way of thinking.”

Former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez. [Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images]

Praise for Hansi Flick

This comments are certainly surprising and provide a glimpse of what was going on behind the scenes when the team was being managed by Xavi. But now, Raphinha seems to be very happy under Hansi Flick, whom he also praised in this interview:

“He is someone who cares about all the players, both those who play and those who don’t. I noticed this when Vitor Roque came off. He went to speak with the club’s management to understand his situation. He talked to him.”

Ultimately, every manager has their own style, but it is clear that Hansi Flick makes a greater effort to communicate with his players. Hopefully, Raphinha will be able to help as Flick leads his team in a crucial match against Inter Milan tonight and help his team reach the UCL final.