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Victor Orta may have made some disappointing signings for Leeds United during his time with the club, but perhaps his greatest success came in the form of Raphinha.

The Brazilian signed for the Whites from Rennes for £17 million ahead of the club's return to the Premier League, and played a key role at Elland Road as Marcelo Bielsa's side established themselves in the top-flight.

It appeared like a highly promising, if not exciting, piece of business at the time, with Raphinha leaving a club who had just qualified for the Champions League to move to a newly-promoted Leeds side.

What was to come was Raphinha arguably becoming the best player to have turned out at Elland Road in the last 20 years, with the maverick dazzling on the flank, albeit his first season came during the COVID-19 lockdown, meaning Whites supporters could only enjoy his contribution to the team on their TV screens initially.

A born match winner, Raphinha single-handedly won the side many points during Bielsa’s first season with the club. The Brazilian left Leeds fans - and opposition fans - in awe at the quality and consistency of his performances, which eventually culminated in him gaining his move to Barcelona on sheer brilliance and absolute merit.

He was an archetypal Bielsa winger, combining devastating quality in possession and on the counter with an intense work rate off the ball as well. His ability to cut inside and unleash powerful and accurate strikes was particularly strong, but he was so much more than that as a two-way winger.

Raphinha would regularly get the ball on the right-hand side and beat his opposing full-back with some magic before putting the ball in low for a cutback goal, which was a trademark move of Bielsa's team. The Argentine worked on repeatable patterns and actions that the side could fall upon with consummate ease, and Raphinha was key to that.

But the Brazilian star wasn't a luxury creative player, as he had the intensity needed to play Bielsa-ball in a difficult man-to-man press as well, which made him such a devastating player for Leeds in most facets of the game.

He had the ability to take a game by the scruff of the neck to drag Leeds up the pitch, even if it was a little 'hero-ball' for some. Even after Bielsa's departure, Raphinha’s scintillating form in the back end of the 2021/22 season helped keep Leeds in the Premier League and earned him his dream move to Barcelona for a reported fee of around £55 million.

The Brazilian international spent only two seasons in West Yorkshire, but wrote his name in Elland Road folklore forever in securing survival on final day with a pressure penalty against Brentford. He scored 17 and assisted a further 12 in his 67 games for the club but ended his final game by celebrating in the away end with the Leeds fans in West London.

Raphinha's Leeds legacy

It's difficult saying farewell to any adored fan favourite, and especially true with Raphinha, but his quality of performance was such that the majority of Leeds fans could only wish him well in leaving for the Spanish giants.

His career has gone from strength to strength since, scoring 10 goals and collecting 12 assists last season for Barcelona in 50 games during his first campaign with the club, whilst also making himself a regular for the Brazil national team, including an inclusion in their World Cup squad last November.

This last few weeks served as a reminder to Leeds fans of his brilliance, as he scored his first Champions League goals despite losing on aggregate to PSG. Raphinha scored three of Barcelona's four goals with Barca losing 6-4 on aggregate to Kylian Mbappé and co.

It will be difficult for any player to emulate Raphinha at Elland Road in the near future, as he is truly a special talent. Leeds fans will hope that the 27-year-old continues where he is, as he has been persistently linked with returning to English football, and if he were to return, then that would no doubt be a difficult one for Leeds fans to stomach seeing him face off against them.

Raphinha has become a key player at Camp Nou, though, continuing his good form into this campaign by adding another nine goals and ten assists in 32 games to his tally.

Leeds, and his legacy will live forever at Elland Road.