Raphinha's Future at Barcelona Secured as Al-Hilal Pursues Salah
Barcelona have been bracing for a summer storm around Raphinha. For now, the clouds are thinning.
The Brazilian winger, long courted by Saudi Arabia and heavily linked with a blockbuster move to Al-Hilal, has seen the spotlight shift away from him at a crucial moment. The Saudi Pro League powerhouse, who had earmarked Raphinha as a marquee arrival, are now throwing their weight behind a different superstar: Mohamed Salah.
Al-Hilal Change Course
Al-Hilal’s admiration for Raphinha is no secret. The club were expected to revisit their pursuit after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, viewing him as one of the headline names capable of lifting the league’s global profile again.
That plan has been nudged aside.
According to SPORT, the Riyadh club have intensified their efforts to prise Salah away from Liverpool, elevating the Egyptian to the top of their attacking shortlist and, in the process, easing the immediate pressure on Barcelona.
Raphinha remains on Al-Hilal’s radar, but no longer as the obsession. He is now one option among several, not the focal point of their strategy.
The scale of the offer for Salah underlines that shift. Al-Hilal have tabled a three-year contract with an option for a fourth, worth a net €20 million per season. It mirrors the financial package they were believed to have lined up for Raphinha, but the priority has changed. The big money is being pointed at Anfield, not at Spotify Camp Nou.
Raphinha’s Future: From Alarm to Breathing Space
Barcelona’s concerns over losing one of Hansi Flick’s key forwards were very real. The club have already survived one major push from Al-Hilal.
In the summer of 2024, shortly after Flick’s arrival, the Saudi side launched an audacious move to pull Raphinha out of Spain. The numbers were eye-watering: a three-year contract worth €100 million net. It was an offer that, by his own admission, forced the Brazilian to think hard about his future.
The Catalans feared history might repeat itself. Recent reports suggested Raphinha had asked Al-Hilal to reopen talks once his World Cup duties with Brazil were over, hinting that the door to a Saudi move was far from closed.
Now, the dynamic has shifted. With Al-Hilal concentrating their resources and energy on Salah, the sense of imminent danger around Raphinha’s departure has eased. Barcelona still know he is admired in Riyadh. They also know he is no longer the first name on that list.
For a club juggling finances and trying to keep a competitive core intact under Flick, that reprieve matters.
Focus on Recovery, Not Relocation
While the market churns in the background, Raphinha’s immediate battle is physical, not contractual.
Injured and racing against the clock, the winger is immersed in an intensive rehabilitation programme, working through three training sessions a day. The target is clear: to be fit in time for a potential World Cup quarter-final on July 5, should Brazil navigate their upcoming knockout tie.
His attention, for now, is locked on the national team and recovery, not on the pull of Saudi millions.
Barcelona will quietly welcome that. Each day that passes with Al-Hilal’s gaze fixed more firmly on Salah and less on Raphinha gives Flick and the club a little more room to plan, a little more time to believe that one of their most important attackers might still be wearing blaugrana when the new season starts.
