Barcelona chief Deco says he sacrificed millions so they could sign Raphinha two years ago.
Deco was Raphinha’s agent at the time and was negotiating his move from Leeds to Barca before Chelsea came in with their offer.
He recalled to Four Four Two: “Raphinha’s exit clause would have dropped to £20m if Leeds went down and he was the best player when Leeds needed him most: he ran more, he worked harder and I, as his agent, would be incapable of influencing any player to my benefit.
“Leeds wanted to sell Raphinha and then the offers came, even bigger than those from Barcelona. The owner of Chelsea (Todd Boehly) called me and insisted a lot, putting pressure on me: he really wanted to sign Raphinha, but I didn’t put pressure on him.
“It was a lot for Raphinha to leave Leeds. Everything was by mutual agreement.
“In a desperate time for Leeds, they promised to sell Raphinha to Barcelona for a certain amount. When they managed to avoid relegation, largely thanks to Raphinha, the president changed his stance because of Chelsea‘s offer.”
This forced Deco to give up his commission so Raphinha was sold to Barca.
“It was because I thought Raphinha deserved to be happy where he dreamed of playing. He wanted to go to Barcelona and Barça would not match Chelsea‘s numbers. It was an effort I made so that the player could be there.”
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