Raphinha Returns to Barcelona: A Key Player for the New Season
Raphinha slipped through the doors at St George’s Park on Monday with little fuss, but his return might be one of the most important arrivals of Barcelona’s summer.
The Brazilian winger has rejoined Hansi Flick’s squad in England after his post‑World Cup break, reporting for duty as Barça sharpen their preparations for the new La Liga season and an opener against Elche on 23 August.
This is not just another player checking in for pre-season. This is a reclamation project.
Back from a bruising World Cup
Raphinha arrives carrying the scars of a bitterly frustrating FIFA World Cup with Brazil. He started the first two group games, only to be forced off after 39 minutes of the second match, against Haiti, with a thigh injury in his right leg.
That was it. Tournament over. Brazil’s campaign unravelled without him, ending in the round of 16 against Norway, and the winger could only watch from the sidelines as his own momentum stalled with his country’s.
Barcelona, though, expect him back fully recovered and ready to work from day one. There will be no easing into the new season. Not for him.
No rush into friendlies
Even so, the club will not throw him straight into match action. Journalist Nil Sola reports that, as things stand, Raphinha is unlikely to feature in Barça’s first two friendlies of the summer.
The Catalans face Birmingham City on 31 July and Preston North End on 3 August. Having only joined up with the group today, the Brazilian is not expected to be ready to play in either fixture. The message is clear: build the base now, reap the rewards later.
Flick wants his Ballon d’Or contender back
Raphinha’s mission is simple and brutal: get back to the level that once had his name whispered among Ballon d’Or contenders.
During the 2024-25 season, under Flick’s first year in charge, he produced the most devastating football of his career. Thirty-four goals. Twenty-six assists. Fifty-seven appearances across all competitions. Those are not just good numbers; they are franchise-player numbers.
With him on the pitch, Barcelona attacked with more menace and pressed with greater conviction. The team’s shape made more sense. The front line had teeth.
Then came last season. Injuries bit hard. Two serious hamstring problems ripped chunks out of his year and broke his rhythm. He still managed 33 appearances and 21 goals, but the story was one of what might have been rather than what was.
Flick has not forgotten the player who once drove his system. Nor has Raphinha.
Built for the long haul
Both coach and winger have circled the same target: a full season at peak level, without the stop-start misery of the past year.
To give that ambition a fighting chance, Barcelona’s new head of physical preparation, Benjamin Kugel, has drawn up a bespoke programme for the Brazilian. It is tailored, detailed, and designed with one purpose – to keep him on the pitch and at full throttle for as long as the campaign demands.
Barça believe that, if they can keep Raphinha fit, they recover one of Europe’s most influential wide forwards. The numbers from his best season back that belief up.
He has walked quietly into pre-season. The question now is whether he can walk back into the conversation about the game’s elite.
