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Football

Barcelona Signing Raphinha from Leeds United for £49 Million

Despite their financial troubles, Barcelona bosses are doing their best to sign as many star players as possible this summer. Leeds United forward Raphinha is the latest A-list player to join the Catalan club for a reported sum of £49 million. Raphinha’s deal with Barca was a long time coming, and it comes as quite a shocker because it’s been reported that Leeds accepted an offer from Chelsea for the Brazilian striker. The Blues eventually missed out on Raphinha because he had a strong desire to move to Camp Nou instead. BBC reports that "an agreement in principle" had been reached between the two clubs, and Raphinha is set to join Barca after passing medical. His deal is worth £49 million, but it will most likely rise to £54.7 million with add-ons. Leeds manager Jesse Marsch told the Yorkshire Evening Post earlier this week that it’s hard to lose Raphinha, but thanked him for fully committing to the club and helping them avoid relegation from the Premier League this past season. “He was so committed, that it made it easy for us to be very connected with what his goals in life and in his career are… As much as it's hard to see him leave. I'm hopeful for him to get this deal done because I know it's his dream to play for Barcelona,” said Marsch.