Latest news with #Raphinha
Al Bawaba
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
Barcelona Reveals Special El Clasico Kit for 2025-26 Season
Published July 29th, 2025 - 09:05 GMT FC Barcelona will launch a fourth kit for the 2025-26 season, featuring a distinct new design made specifically for El Clásico. This new kit will add to the club's traditional home, away, and third kits, highlighting the intensity of its rivalry with Real Madrid both on and off the field. First Look at the New Design The first images of the special edition jersey were recently shared by Footy Headlines, a trusted source, citing an Instagram post from Mask Jerseys. The design stands out with its non-uniform red and blue stripes and a touch of gradient sky blue accents. It offers a modern and artistic take on Barcelona's classic colors, challenging the usual kit styles. Early Reactions: Bold and Positive Spanish designer @OriolWarero posted a digital mock-up on X (formerly Twitter) showing Brazilian winger Raphinha in the new shirt. This image received positive feedback from fans, who admired the club's new direction and its effort to innovate for one of football's biggest matches. A Marketing Move with Global Reach Creating a kit specifically for El Clásico is not just a design choice; it's also a smart strategy. El Clásico is among the most-watched sports events in the world, and Barcelona aims to take advantage of that wide audience. The club has set record merchandise sales in recent seasons, and this limited edition jersey is expected to boost that success. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pau Victor credits Barcelona captain for helping him secure Braga move – ‘I always listen to his advice'
Pau Víctor has officially completed his move to Portuguese side SC Braga this summer, in a deal worth €12 million plus an additional €3 million in performance-based add-ons. The young forward has already been presented by the club and shared his excitement about the transfer, as well as the advice he received from a familiar face, namely, Barcelona winger Raphinha. The former Barça talent revealed that Raphinha played a big part in helping him decide on the move. 'He played here for a rival team, Vitoria de Guimaraes, so I won't pay much attention to him,' Pau joked, before getting serious. 'The truth is, Raphinha advised me to leave. He told me about how strong the league is becoming and how big Braga is as a club.' Raphinha's experience in Portugal Raphinha, who spent a year in the reserves and three more seasons in the senior team of Vitoria Guimaraes before moving on to Sporting CP, has first-hand experience in Portuguese football. His recommendation carried a lot of weight for Pau Victor. 'Raphinha told me the league is growing quickly and that many top players are emerging from here. I always listen to his advice,' the striker added. Pau Victor also spoke about the pride he feels in joining a club like Braga, which has shown real faith in his abilities. 'It's an important step in my career. I'm joining a club with clear ambitions, and I believe this is the perfect place for me to grow as a player,' he said. He is determined to make the most of this opportunity by proving himself on the pitch and rewarding the club's trust. With more minutes likely to come his way, Pau Victor is set to begin a new chapter in his journey, ready to develop and help Braga meet their goals.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pau Victor reveals his last conversation with a teammate after leaving Barcelona.
Pau Victor reveals his last conversation with a teammate after leaving Barcelona. Barcelona is currently working on getting rid of several names for next season. The Spanish club wants to prepare for the upcoming season in the best possible way, so many operations were being carried out behind closed doors to get rid of several names that are not part of German coach Hansi Flick's plans. Among these names was the young Spaniard Pau Victor. What conversation did Victor have with his teammate before leaving Barcelona? Pau won't be the only player to leave Barcelona, with reports suggesting that there are many other names on the way, including Denmark's Andreas Christensen, Spain's Oriol Romeu, and others. The young Spanish striker, now 23, recently opened up about a key discussion that influenced his decision to move to Portugal. Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, he recalled a lighthearted exchange with Barcelona's Raphinha—who once played in the same league. With a playful tone, he initially brushed off the Brazilian's input, saying: "He played for a rival club (Vitória de Guimarães), so I shouldn't take his advice too seriously." But he soon revealed that Raphinha had, in fact, been the one to convince him. "Truth is, he told me to go," he admitted. The Barça skipper had praised Braga's stature, the rising quality of the Portuguese league, and its track record for nurturing talent: "It's a major club in a fast-growing league. Plenty of top players have come from there."
New York Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Sean Longstaff interview: ‘Leeds have a similar feeling to when Newcastle got taken over'
Raphinha's impact at Leeds United is still playing a part in the club's transfer business three years after his final game for the club. While the Brazilian's trajectory from Portugal and France through Elland Road to Barcelona and now Ballon d'Or contention is pointed out to compatriot Igor Paixao by fans on social media as he is linked with a move from Dutch side Feyenoord, one specific game and memory of Raphinha stands out for Sean Longstaff. Advertisement The Newcastle United academy graduate has only played at Elland Road in front of fans once. It was the night in January 2022 when he replaced an injured Joelinton before half-time, the night Jonjo Shelvey sealed a smash-and-grab away win for Eddie Howe's visitors with a 75th-minute free kick. 'One of the big things I remember from the day is, Raphinha was still there, every time he got the ball, you could feel the buzz of the whole stadium,' Longstaff tells The Athletic. 'As an away player, even if we felt OK in the game, you're subconsciously thinking, 'Are we not OK here?'. 'I just remember the whole atmosphere. I started on the bench. I remember warming up — you take in a bit more; you look around, and every time they go forward, you think they're going to score just because of the buzz of the crowd.' That's a buzz Longstaff, 27, cannot wait to experience as a home player in less than a month when Everton arrive, under the lights, for both sides' 2025-26 season opener on Monday, August 18. That Shelvey-inspired win was considered one of the foundational moments in Howe's rebuild of the club after its takeover. More than three years later, Longstaff is wearing a Leeds training kit as he speaks to The Athletic at the team's pre-season training camp in Germany. As he mulled over the Yorkshire side's advances towards him this summer, he was reminded of how those early weeks of optimism felt after Newcastle's takeover in 2021. Longstaff finished last season and went to team-mate Jacob Murphy's wedding in France in early June. Having grown up in nearby North Shields, he was still deliberating on leaving the club that had been his whole life. Then he went to visit brother Matty, a former Newcastle midfielder himself, in Toronto, where he now plays for the Canadian city's MLS side. While there, he spoke on the phone with the Leeds hierarchy about a transfer. 'It was the whole thing, really. From saying it's so similar to Newcastle in terms of it's a one-club city, the fanbases are so passionate, but it's also what they're building and then how good the squad is already — hopefully what they can add to it,' says Longstaff. Advertisement 'I've seen the videos of the (post-promotion) parade, and the plan for a new stadium. I got a lot of similar feelings to when Newcastle got taken over (in 2021). Sometimes the best time to be at a club is at the start of it all, and you can build with it, you can see the progress and hopefully all the little wins along the way.' The American side of their ownership bore fruit for Leeds, too. Longstaff's father, David, is a UK ice-hockey legend who played more than 100 times for Great Britain during a career that took him and the family around the world. His eldest son, inevitably, loves ice hockey too, but has built a love for all American sports. Larry Nance, a high-profile NBA basketball player who is in the club's ownership group, had actually crossed paths with Longstaff years before. It was an NHL hockey player, though, who properly turned the midfielder's head once the deal was signed. 'He (Nance) messaged me the other day, which was cool,' he says. 'He came to a Newcastle game when DeAndre Yedlin (the USMNT international) was still there. They knew each other. I hadn't really played much at the time, so I was a bit nervous. 'I walked past him with my head down, not knowing, whatever it was, six years later, I was going to sign for a team he's invested in. He just welcomed me and said he was really excited to have me here. 'It was really nice of him, and I remember when I signed and they showed me all the investors, there was Erik Johnson (who won the NHL title with Colorado Avalanche in 2022). My eyes were drawn to the ice hockey player who invested, and that was so cool.' Sports other than football seem to dominate our interview. There is no avoiding this summer's clip of Longstaff taking a wicket when bowling for Tynemouth Cricket Club. He's played for them since he was 11 and uses it as an escape from the world of professional football. Advertisement He has a warning for West Yorkshire cricket sides hopeful of recruiting him for their 2026 summer campaigns. 'I've played there since I was 11,' he says. 'It's always a place I can go back to and no one really looks at you and says, 'It's Sean Longstaff, the footballer'. They say, 'It's Sean Longstaff, the 11-year-old kid who's a bit of a pain sometimes'. I always tried to hide it, to be honest, but as I've got older, there are a few more people taking videos. Now it's like everyone knows it. That's not ideal. 'When I left, all the lads from the cricket club were really happy (for me). They were reminding me I've left Newcastle, but I've not left Tynemouth Cricket Club.' Moving away from home was never going to be easy for Longstaff, and nobody should have expected it to be. His football world was built around St James' Park, and making 214 appearances for his boyhood club is a feat he would have never dreamt of as a child. He says it was unexpectedly emotional departing Newcastle's training camp in Austria to complete his Leeds move. Team-mates Jamaal Lascelles and Nick Pope addressed the entire squad with leaving messages that left them unable to hold back the tears. Dan Burn, one of Longstaff's best friends in football, was another, he says, who was wiping his eyes at the back of the room. Happy as they are for Longstaff to have this new challenge with better prospects of regular minutes, they will miss him. The emotions of that send-off tie in with the mental health aspect of the game, which Longstaff has become associated with. Anyone who has read about him will be familiar with the breakdown he had in front of his father in October 2020 and the subsequent help he sought from a psychologist. It changed his life and will remain a big part of his career, even after this move to West Yorkshire. Advertisement 'It's one of those things I've tried to be open with because it's such a massive topic,' he says. 'Dan Burn was the same. I had loads of good conversations with him. 'I still speak to a psychologist pretty much every day when we're back home and even just for 20 seconds on the phone, whether it's a routine or whatever. It's the same thing with the cricket. You do it because football can be so pressurised, you sometimes need a release, to get away, do things you enjoy and that relax you. I've always found it quite therapeutic being around your friends, but also still being in a competitive environment. 'Football is very up and down. There are times when you feel amazing and times when you feel awful. It's been a massive help to me and probably something I'll do until I retire.' The links back to Newcastle will always be a cornerstone of Longstaff's career. He's even had a post-transfer message from their former manager Rafa Benitez, who congratulated him on taking the leap away from Tyneside. Leeds backup goalkeeper Karl Darlow, of course, knows both clubs very well, having made the same move in summer 2023. 'When I first heard of the interest, he was the first person I texted, and you expect a bit of a response, but I got a five-minute voice note on why I should come (laughs),' Longstaff says. 'It's weird because I remember being an 18 or 19-year-old kid at Newcastle, going into a dressing room and being so scared. 'Karl was one of the senior figures in that dressing room. I've had some amazing trips with Karl. He's watched me grow up, in a way, and gone from being a kid to becoming a dad. He said the other week, 'I didn't realise you were a dad'. I try to keep that as private as possible. 'He's someone I can rely on. It probably helps that he's so well respected within the group, because everyone speaks to him, I'm always there, so you feel a part of the conversation. He's been really good to me so far.' Advertisement Longstaff describes Darlow as a safety blanket for these opening weeks with a new club. Although manager Daniel Farke has methods of bedding all the squad's arrivals in with each other, away from cliques. While captain Ethan Ampadu, Newcastle link Darlow and everyone's best friend Alex Cairns have been fixtures of Longstaff's first week, fellow summer signing Gabriel Gudmundsson has also been someone he has spoken a lot to. The pair were placed next to each other at a meal as part of Farke's seating plan, where the German manager alternates a British player, then a foreign one, then a Brit and so on, around the tables — no cliques, no comfort zones. The all-important Farke phone call is a big step in any Leeds transfer chase. Longstaff says their chat played a big part in his final yes-or-no choice on this move. 'One of the big things when I was deciding whether to come or not. You don't want people just to tell you how good you are, and he didn't,' he says. 'He said nice things, but one of the things that struck me from the conversation was, 'I think I can improve you here, here and here'. 'Straight away, for me, it's not, 'We just want to get him here'. He's obviously had a think and thought, 'This is what I can improve', which was massive for me. 'That was one of the most impressive things. Different managers have different styles, and I really like how he's worked so far. I've really enjoyed it.' Howe and Benitez, Longstaff would say, have had the biggest impact on his senior career to date. He's hoping Farke can make the same mark on this next step in his career.
Metro
7 days ago
- Sport
- Metro
Rivaldo warns Marcus Rashford he isn't taking Barcelona star's first-team spot
Barcelona and Brazil legend Rivaldo has warned Marcus Rashford he will not take Raphinha's place in the team at the Camp Nou. Rashford has Manchester United to join the Catalan giants on a season-long loan deal, officially unveiled on Wednesday. Barcelona have agreed to cover his wages in full and have the option to make the move permanent for £30million next summer. Rashford has been at his devastating best playing on the left over the years, a position he regards as his best. Raphinha occupied that role for Barca last season, reaching a new level and placing himself in the Ballon d'Or conversation after a remarkable campaign where he scored 34 times and provided 25 assists. Barcelona have been desperate to bring in a new winger, initially targeting Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams with Liverpool star Luis Diaz also considered. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. Raphinha and Lamine Yamal each played over 4,500 minutes last season with no direct back-up for either man on the wing with Ferran Torres regarded as an option up top to compete with Robert Lewandowski. While there will surely be plenty of opportunities coming his way, Rivaldo believes Rashford may have to wait for his chance to shine. 'When a player leaves a club in a tough situation, like he did, and joins a team like Barcelona, it's only natural that the coach will use training sessions and the first few matches to get a better look at him,' Rivaldo told Betfair. 'Barcelona had a great season last year, so it's normal for him to start off on the bench. 'I believe that little by little, he'll find his rhythm, start to understand how the manager wants the team to play, get used to the training routines, and gradually settle in. Over time, he'll earn his spot.' It is unlikely to come at the expense of Raphinha, however. 'I think that's highly unlikely that Rashford will take Raphinha's spot, especially after the season Raphinha had last year. In my view, Raphinha is currently among the top five players in the world,' Rivaldo continued. 'Right now, he's an undisputed starter at Barça and already a club icon. Everyone, the players, the coaching staff, the whole club rates him very highly. More Trending 'What he did last season was outstanding, so without a doubt, that position is his. 'Of course, it's always good to have top-quality players around you. So yes, there will be competition, but I don't think Rashford is going to take Raphinha's place. 'Other opportunities will arise, and with training, the manager will likely find a way to fit them both into the team. 'But for me, Raphinha is a nailed-on starter. I don't see any chance of him being dropped from Barça's starting line-up.' MORE: Ajax respond to £34m Chelsea bid to sign Jorrel Hato MORE: Manchester United hierarchy set Ruben Amorim his Premier League target MORE: Alejandro Garnacho leaves Man Utd fans fuming with comments on Marcus Rashford exit
