Barcelona are still to pay Leeds United £35.7million from the transfer of Raphinha over two years ago, according to Sport.
The Spanish outlet reported on 8 October that Raphinha is one of four 2022 signings whom Barcelona still owe significant sums for, alongside Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde.
Raphinha’s exit from Elland Road saw a total fee of £55m agreed under Andrea Radrizzani’s ownership, with £50m of this amount reportedly having to be paid upfront by the La Liga club [Leeds Live, 15 July 2022].
However, Sport now reports that the Whites are owed £469,000 in the short term by Barcelona and a long-term total of £35.2m, with further payments also due for previous clubs Sporting CP, Rennes and Vitoria de Guimaraes.
Leeds United fans will be fuming at missing Raphinha transfer fees
Raphinha’s sale to Barcelona was the biggest transaction in or out of Elland Road in the summer of 2022 and was pitched as a deal which would allow then-manager Jesse Marsch to spend big on replacements.
However, it was also pitched as a deal which was lower than the threshold many fans valued Raphinha at for one reason – because Barca were supposedly paying the bulk of the fee upfront.
Therefore, it now seems as if either Barcelona didn’t – and still don’t – have the money to pay that initial fee, or that the deal negotiated by Andrea Radrizzani and Angus Kinnear was never designed as such.
Regardless, United fans certainly won’t be happy, either with the £35m hole in their finances or the fact that Raphinha – their best player at the time – appears to have been sold for well below market value.
The 49ers Enterprises will have footed the bill for Barcelona’s missing fees, and given Archie Gray was sold for a high amount to assuage profit and sustainability concerns [Kinnear, 13 September], fans and owners alike will forever be wondering what could have been if Barca held up their side of the bargain.
