Raphinha Man Utd transfer admission as former Leeds United star opens up

Former Leeds United winger Raphinha has admitted he once came close to joining Manchester United. Raphinha left Leeds in the summer of 2022 after spending two seasons at Elland Road to fulfil his boyhood dream of playing for Barcelona, where he remains.

However, it seems things could have played out very differently for Raphinha, who made the Red Devils admission in a round of quickfire questions with TikToker Adri Contreras. Asked if there was a team he came close to playing for, the Brazilian named Man United, who he has been linked with consistently over the last couple of seasons.

The Old Trafford club were rumoured to be interested in Raphinha prior to his switch to La Liga and there have been reports in the year and a half since that the club still see him as a target. A report in Spanish news outlet Sport in December suggested Barcelona were willing to listen to offers for the 27-year-old this month and again Man United were the side mentioned as a potential destination.

Raphinha didn't elaborate on when the deal almost happened, but it is safe to say there's a strong chance it may have been the summer in which he left Elland Road. Raphinha also came close to joining Chelsea that off-season, only to turn the Londoners down in favour of joining Barcelona.

Raphinha has been a key member of the Barca side this season, bagging three goals and five assists in 15 La Liga appearances, with further outings coming in the Champions League, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup.

The Brazilian was regarded as a crowd favourite at Elland Road, where he starred under the stewardship of Marcelo Bielsa and briefly Jesse Marsch. He made 67 appearances for the club and scored 17 goals, with his last coming in his final outing for the club as the Whites beat Brentford to secure a third season of Premier League football.