Arsenal sporting director Edu reveals he knew Raphinha only ever wanted to join Barcelona

Football Espana

·25 July 2022

Arsenal sporting director Edu reveals he knew Raphinha only ever wanted to join Barcelona

Arsenal sporting director Edu has revealed that he always knew Raphinha only ever wanted to leave Leeds United for Barcelona. Arsenal had been in the mix for the Brazilian but Deco, Raphinha’s agent, made his client’s stance crystal clear.

Edu also revealed that he works in tandem with coach Mikel Arteta when identifying and pursuing transfer targets. He’ll never sign anyone the Spaniard’s not comfortable with and vice versa. They both wanted Raphinha but he only had eyes for Camp Nou.

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And he got what he wanted. Raphinha joined Barcelona earlier this month and has made an instant impact – he scored the winning goal for the Catalan club in their 1-0 defeat of Real Madrid in Las Vegas over the weekend and contributed a goal and two assists in their 6-0 demolition of MLS side Inter Miami. The Brazilian will be competing for minutes with Ousmane Dembele this coming season but looks well-equipped for the challenge.

Arsenal director Edu: “Deco always told me that Raphinha only wanted Barcelona. New signings? We’ve to be ready”, tells @SkySportsNews ⚪️🔴 #AFC “I'm never ever gonna sign a player which Arteta is not comfortable with. It’s not Mikel’s or Edu’s signings - it's Arsenal signings”.
– Monday, 25 July 2022

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