Raphinha Future Was Discussed During Meeting Between Joan Laporta And Deco

Last evening, Barcelona president Joan Laporta had a meeting with former midfielder and football agent Deco.

The Portuguese icon is seen as the most likely candidate to replace Mateu Alemany as the Director of Football at Barcelona, with the latter set to depart on June 30.

And, on Tuesday, there was a meeting held between Deco and Laporta at the latter’s residence and as per Toni Juanmarti, there were a lot of positive vibes during the discussions.

It is claimed that the two parties discussed the general situation at the club and players heading into the summer window, without any specific names mentioned.

However, there were talks about the future of one player in the form of Raphinha. The Brazilian winger is after all represented by Deco himself and his future at Barcelona has come into question in recent weeks.

With the Catalans needing to make a major sale in the summer, the 26-year-old has been linked with a departure. Clubs like Chelsea and Newcastle United have been heavily linked and a fee of €80 million is being touted.

Recent reports had suggested that Raphinha would be open to leaving the club due to concerns over his playing time next season. However, the Brazilian took to social media to deny those rumours and called them lies.

Despite that, though, it seems like Barcelona might press ahead with the former Leeds United man’s sale as he has a market in the Premier League and could fetch a sizeable sum from a transfer.

As such, his name was discussed between Deco and Lapota during the meeting and the report states that the agent, who could soon become the director at Barcelona, will hold talks with Raphinha about the possibility of a transfer to the Premier League.

The situation is understood to be complicated to solve, and it remains to be seen whether Raphinha remains at the club or moves on in the summer.