Raphinha

Sunshine and sea: Natalia and Rafa prefer the azure ocean to the grey roads and with his latest move to Spain the boy from Brazil has decided to ditch his pair of wheels for something which can better handle the waves!

Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on February 14th, 1996, he befriended the ball on the streets of his native country before being picked by local side Avaí in his late teens. Shortly thereafter he was on his way to Portugal to play for Vitória Guimarães. He started out with Vitória Guimarães B in the LigaPro before impressive performances earned him a call up to the first team. In only his second year at the club Rafa was a regular starter, winning the Vitória Guimarães Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2017. He went on to make 84 appearances for the club, scoring and assisting a total of 35 goals. Rafa’s mesmeric play on the wings earned him a move to Portuguese powerhouse Sporting Lisbon in May 2018. The winger opened his account for Leões in a 2-0 win over FK Qarabag in a UEFA Europa League fixture. The Brazilian’s debut season at Sporting CP saw the club achieve a domestic double of Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga. French club Rennes paid a club record fee of €21 million to sign the Brazilian speed demon from Sporting CP in 2019. Rafa would repay the faith by helping Rennes qualify for the UEFA Champions League. In the summer of 2020 newly promoted Premier League club Leeds United signed the mercurial Brazilian on a long term deal. He made his debut on October 19th, and during his tenure would rise to become the talisman at Elland Road. His goals and assists steered Leeds off of relegation and in turn earned him a move to his dream club FC Barcelona in the summer of 2022.