Barcelona's Raphinha stance 'confirmed' amid firm interest from Saudi Arabia

Barcelona were reportedly open to selling Raphinha this summer, with clubs from the Saudi Pro League thought to be extremely keen on the attacker.

The 29-year-old has scored 75 goals and registered 59 assists in 177 appearances for Barcelona since making the move to Camp Nou from Leeds United in the summer of 2022.

Raphinha scored 21 goals and registered eight assists in 33 appearances for Barcelona last season, but he was unavailable for two lengthy spells due to hamstring issues.

The Brazil international has a contract at Barcelona until June 2028, but there was a host of speculation surrounding his future earlier this summer.

According to journalist Romain Molina, the La Liga champions were open to selling the forward to the Saudi Pro League during this summer's transfer window.

Barcelona 'open' to Raphinha departure this summer

Molina claims that Barcelona signed Jesse Bisiwu to prepare for a potential Raphinha departure.

Bisiwu has been signed as a player for the future, but the 18-year-old made a huge impression on his debut against Basel last time out, finding the back of the net on two occasions in a 5-2 success.

Barcelona are said to have concerns surrounding Raphinha's recent injury issues and were open to a major sale due to the player's age.

Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal are believed to be extremely keen on Raphinha, who could become one of the best-paid players in world football with a move to the division.

Could Raphinha yet leave Barcelona before end of transfer window?

There is still thought to be a small chance that Raphinha could depart Barcelona before the end of the transfer window, as the Catalan outfit want to bring in a new number nine.

However, it would take a serious bid to convince Barcelona to sell at this stage of proceedings.

The exits of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres have left the La Liga champions short when it comes to the centre-forward spot; Raphinha started through the middle in Barcelona's 5-2 success over Basel last time out.

Barcelona also have 18-year-old Hamza Abdelkarim, who has been a standout player for the team in pre-season, scoring three times.