Barcelona forward Raphinha has said he was hurt by some of the speculation surrounding the club’s interest in signing Nico Williams in the summer, labelling it disrespectful and in bad taste.
Barça’s pursuit of the Athletic Club and Spain winger raised questions about Raphinha’s future, with one photograph of a fan wearing a Williams shirt with the Brazilian’s No. 11 on the back going viral during the transfer window.
Raphinha — who has subsequently started the season in fine form, and is in line to make his 100th Barça appearance against Bayern Munich on Wednesday — has admitted he was irked by certain things during the summer.
“I saw those [posts] with the shirt on Instagram,” he said in a news conference on Tuesday ahead of the Bayern game. “I thought it was a joke in bad taste and it was disrespectful.
“People need to respect the players that are here. We’re here giving our best and fighting for the club. To see a photo like that wasn’t very nice for me, I took it as a lack of respect.
“Of course, people are free to do what they want, but I did feel a little hurt in that moment.”
Raphinha’s response has been to up his game on the pitch. Under Hansi Flick, he has found his best form since joining the club from Leeds United in 2022, scoring six goals and providing six assists in 12 appearances in all competitions.
Playing from the left or more centrally, as opposed to on the right wing, he was named LaLiga’s Player of the Month for August. He has even worn the captain’s armband at times, but he insisted the summer speculation is not behind his improvement.
“It wasn’t an added motivator to start the season in the way I did,” he added. “I was anxious to give my best for the club. Seeing how many years of my contract I have here [until 2027], it was a crucial point.
“I started the season knowing to play here I have to adapt to different positions and a different style of play. In the past I gave 100%; now I give 200% and I’m always willing to do that for this club.
“[It has been] part mental and part tactical, but also it’s very important for me to have the confidence of the coach and my teammates. My mentality at the beginning of the season was different from other years — I knew I had to adapt to a new position to play here.”
Raphinha is not the only player to improve under Flick, with Barça winning 10 of their 12 games under the German coach this season, but they will be tested this week against Bayern and Real Madrid, who they travel to on Saturday in LaLiga for the first Clásico of the campaign.
Bayern arrive at the Olympic Stadium on the back of a six-game winning streak against Barça, including an 8-2 victory when Flick was in the Bayern dugout in 2020.
However, Flick is not concerned by the past as he prepares for a “special” reunion with the team he led to a treble in 2019-20 before taking the Germany national team job in 2021.
“The past doesn’t matter,” he said in the news conference when asked about the 8-2 specifically. “The here and now is what’s important. We can’t influence what happened in the past, but we can prepare well for tomorrow.
“Of course it’s a special game in this case against Bayern. I played there and I coached there. I have a lot of acquaintances there, players and also people within the management structure.
“It was a great time in my career and I have great memories, but I am in another chapter now here at Barça and I am very happy here.”
The matchup pits the LaLiga leaders against the Bundesliga leaders, with Flick complimenting the work done so far by new coach Vincent Kompany.
“Bayern are in very good shape,” he said. “Kompany and his coaching team are doing an outstanding job, pressing opponents, brave with the ball and imposing their style on teams. It will be a tough task for us.”
Barça and Bayern both have three points from two games in the Champions League this season, increasing the need for both teams to win the game this week.
Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Fermín López and Dani Olmo are all fit again for Barça, although it remains to be seen if any of them are ready to start the game, with Eric García and long-term absentees Marc-André ter Stegen, Ronald Araújo, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal and Ferran Torres all missing out.