The latest on Barcelona's Raphinha 'debt' including £35m claim and Leeds United stance

Leeds United fans have regularly kept an eye on Raphinha’s development at Barcelona but the winger’s name came back to the forefront of supporter’s minds earlier this month. A report from Spain suggested the Whites were still owed money from Barcelona for their winger, who is into his third campaign at Camp Nou.

The details of agreements surrounding transfers can be a minefield at the best of times, and Barcelona’s recent financial issues only make deals involving them more complex, and so there has been plenty of confusion regarding who owes what to who. Well, the YEP has rounded up all the key information below.

How much did Barcelona buy Raphinha for?

After two excellent Premier League campaigns at Elland Road in which he registered 17 goals and 12 assists, Raphinha earned his big-money move by the summer of 2022. The Brazilian dreamed of joining Barcelona and eventually got his wish, signing a five-year contract for the La Liga giants in July of that year.

Leeds were well compensated for their star player, with the deal worth an initial £50million plus £5m of performance-related add-ons. Transfers of such high value can often be paid in instalments, although it is unclear whether such an agreement was reached between Leeds and Barcelona on this occasion.

Previous owner Andrea Radrizzani did suggest the presence of instalments in an interview with The Athletic that summer, warning Barcelona against missing payments. "I don't know about behind the scenes and how they suddenly found the money and now it works, it's not clear," he said when asked if Leeds would take action should they not receive the money. "Look, I'll tell you on September 2. If not, we will have a global case on all the media in the world about Barcelona."

‘Debt’ claims

Raphinha’s name resurfaced earlier this month when Spanish media claimed Leeds were still owed money. SPORT claimed Barcelona were still in debt to the Whites, to the value of €559,000 in the short term and almost €42m (£35m) in the long-term.

The report detailed a number of payments Barcelona still owe for some of their recent signings including Robert Lewandowski, Joules Kounde and Raphinha. And the numbers made stark reading, with large amounts still yet to be paid on all.

Leeds’ stance

Those reports attracted a lot of interest in West Yorkshire, with the belief being Leeds were owed tens of millions of pounds for the winger, which caused plenty of frustration given that current financial constraints led to key players being sold over the summer. But it is not that simple.

The YEP reported shortly after those claims from Spain that Leeds were not owed any money for Raphinha, with outstanding transfer income of just £2m published within last season’s accounts. That is not to say that Barcelona don’t owe that money, with the likelihood being they borrowed funds from a creditor in order to afford the deal.