Raphinha reveals frustrations with Xavi at Barcelona

Barcelona’s star forward Raphinha has expressed his frustrations with former manager Xavi Hernandez who rarely trusted the Brazilian to play the full 90 minutes of a match.

Raphinha has emerged as the brightest light in Barcelona’s brilliant start to the 2024/25 campaign, excelling as the lungs of Hansi Flick’s high-energy outfit. This represents a dramatic transformation compared to the end of last season, when the 27-year-old considered leaving the club after two mixed years under Xavi.

The former midfielder left in the summer while Raphinha stayed put.

Without openly lambasting his ex-coach, Raphinha explained how difficult it became to perform when he knew that each start would invariably end on the hour mark. The Brazilian started and finished just eight of his 87 Barcelona appearances for Xavi.

“I laugh, because that has happened to me a lot,” Raphinha told El Pais. “It’s not a criticism of Xavi. Unconsciously, I already knew that I was going to have to come off. I tried to do everything in 60 minutes and nothing worked out for me. And other times, when things did work out for me, he would take me off anyway.”

When asked if he ever felt “left out” at Barcelona, Raphinha revealed: “At times, yes. Above all, during the first six months, before the World Cup. But I’ve also felt it in the rest of the windows. There was always one thing or another, that if I wasn’t good enough, that I had to be sold.”

Flick has already trusted Raphinha to play the full 90 minutes of 11 matches. The only time that the club’s vice captain hasn’t started a game this season, Barcelona were thumped 4-2.

When explaining the impact of Flick and his coaching staff, Raphinha pointedly noted: “They are different people, who have a different way of doing their job and dealing with the players. It also helps to change the mentality after not winning anything.”