Raphinha, the winger who reinvented himself as a striker, arrives at the Clasico with 14 goals in 10 games

Just five years ago, Raphinha was fighting for survival with Leeds United on the final day of the Premier League season. Today he is Barcelona's captain and its top offensive threat. Between those two moments lies a story of constant change: in position, in coach, even in country, one that now has him lining up as Hansi Flick's center forward right before Sunday's Clasico against Real Madrid.

The number alone is striking: 14 goals in 10 games this season, most of them coming in a position that wasn't even his a couple of years ago. Raphinha arrived at Barca under Xavi Hernandez as a right winger, later shined on the left under Flick, and now, with Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres gone and the failed pursuit of Julian Alvarez, he has become the improvised number 9 nobody saw coming.

Those who have known him since he was young are not all that surprised. Victor Orta, the sporting director who brought him to Leeds in 2020 and now works at Real Valladolid, describes him as a player unlike the typical Brazilian export:

I remember watching Vitoria de Guimaraes one day and thinking he could play as a fullback. He had a different style from the typical technical Brazilian. I thought, "Wow, this guy looks like he could run the 400 meters!"Victor Orta

From Brazil's pickup pitches to the Leeds locker room

Raphinha's path, and he turns 30 in December, wasn't the typical route for a big South American prospect. He came up through varzea tournaments in Brazil, a scene he himself once called "the land of outcasts," before landing in Portugal with Vitoria, then Sporting CP, and later Stade Rennais in France. It was at Leeds, under Marcelo Bielsa, that his career truly took off.

Orta himself admits the signing came together almost by accident, with Bielsa hesitant at first and a plane hastily arranged after several Rennes players tried to block Raphinha's exit. "I told Marcelo to trust me... now he's getting on a plane," Orta recalls. The gamble paid off: over two seasons Raphinha scored 17 goals and helped Leeds avoid relegation twice.

His final match in a Leeds shirt was a decisive penalty against Brentford in 2022 that sealed survival. That celebration, sliding across the pitch on his knees, which he has repeated every time Barca has lifted a trophy since, was born right there. Orta even remembers the financial tension of those hours: "If we had gone down, his release clause was 24 million euros. But he fought for us until the last game, and then Barca paid 54 million euros with add-ons."

From winger under Xavi to striker under Flick

At Xavi's Barcelona, Raphinha had to compete for minutes with Ousmane Dembele and, later, Lamine Yamal, which limited his playing time despite scoring 20 goals across two seasons. There were moments when he even considered leaving, something he admitted himself to ESPN. Everything changed when Flick arrived in 2024, telling him from their very first phone call that his physical profile, far from the stereotypical technical Brazilian, would be key to his style of play.

Orta sums it up in a phrase that blends both worlds: "Hansi brought physical strength, verticality and pressing. The German style suits him perfectly. He's like a German with Brazilian technique."

Under Flick, Raphinha scored 34 goals in his first full season, playing on the left alongside Yamal and Lewandowski, and helped Barca win the domestic treble. Last season, despite injuries, he reached 21 goals in 33 games. This season, with the number 9 spot vacant after the departures of Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, he has taken it a step further: he already has 12 goals in just eight LaLiga games, including a brace against Feyenoord in Barca's 5-1 rout.

People close to the player keep coming back to the same two words to explain his evolution: ambition and hard work. Orta puts it this way:

He loves to work. He's a player who enjoys training, who's always chasing the next level. Everything he's achieving now is the result of a lot of work, a lot of work and a lot of work every single day.Victor Orta

An injury during the last international break cost him some rhythm, and Raphinha himself admitted his frustration after being substituted against PSG: "The coach took me off and it bothered me a bit. I think I could have held on for a few more minutes." Even so, he arrives at the Clasico back in top form, ready to lead the attack for a Barca side that could complete a historic start to the LaLiga season with 10 wins in 10 games. Before thinking about the Champions League or more trophies, it's time to face the eternal rival.