The Brazilian was repeatedly linked with a move to Spanish powerhouse FC Barcelona over the summer, but there were growing concerns over whether or not the La Liga side could fund a deal.
Arsenal and Chelsea were also interested in the winger, with Chelsea coming very close to agreeing transfer at one point.
However, Barcelona eventually swooped in and brought Raphinha to the Camp Nou.
Following his switch, Raphinha has revealed that former Barca star Neymar played a key role in his move to Catalunya:
“I talked to Neymar about a move and he told me that if I get to Barcelona then I won’t regret and he was right,” the forward told La Vanguardia.
“I rejected Chelsea because my dream was to wear the Barcelona shirt.”
Barcelona see off Cadiz
Barcelona have struggled against the bottom-half outfit over the last few seasons, but on Saturday they were dominant and eventually came away with a 4-0 win thanks to second-half goals from Frenkie de Jong, Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele.
Despite picking up a 4-0 victory, though, Xavi was not overly happy with how his side played.
Xavi said: “We hadn’t beat Cadiz in two seasons. This was an important win.
“I’m happy, but we didn’t play an excellent match.”
Barcelona now turn their attention to the Champions League where they will play Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
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