Raphinha message for Leeds United player and bizarre Barcelona transfer demand comes to light

Raphinha is no longer a Leeds United player, but he is still keeping in touch with some of his old teammates.

The winger departed this summer on a deal worth up to £55million, joining Barcelona after talk aplenty surrounding his future.

A number of clubs were said to have expressed an interest, but Raphinha wanted Barcelona and he got his wish.

Leeds have swiftly moved on, snapping up Luis Sinisterra as his replacement, but the Brazilian has not completely cut ties.

The Whites confirmed young star Crysencio Summerville as their new number 10 this week, with the youngster taking over Raphinha’s number.

And Raphinha replied to Summerville’s tweet - which showed him holding his new shirt, saying ‘My boy’ with three hearts.

It’s nice to see Raphinha keeping in touch with some of his old teammates and getting behind his successor.

Meanwhile, a strange report has emerged over Barca’s signing of Raphinha.

According to The Athletic, Barcelona tried everything to restructure the potential deal due to financial problems at the club.

Barca could face difficulty in registering some of their new signings due to their financial issues, also signing the likes of Robert Lewandowski this summer.

And the report claims they asked Leeds to complete the transfer with the promise of the money being paid in January.

But the Whites were having none of it, swiftly rejecting that request and making it clear that the money had to be paid upfront.

Leeds were in a strong negotiating position given Chelsea had also made a juicy offer.

And the Whites protected that demand by inserting a £7million penalty clause in the deal, which would come into effect in the event Barca don’t pay by the stipulated deadline.

Barca eventually agreed to pay upfront to wrap up the deal, likely well aware that their request was very unlikely to be accepted anyway.