‘I knew I was leaving’ – Raphinha reveals Hansi Flick intervention stopped him from QUITTING Barcelona after exit decision
Opening up on his near-departure, the forward explained exactly how close he came to securing a transfer. A frank discussion with his new manager provided the exact reassurance he required to recommit to the Catalan giants.
“In my head, I knew I was leaving. That was [mentally] done, that’s the truth,” Raphinha revealed in an interview with Guardian. “I was in Brazil and Flick called. He said come talk to him before taking a final decision. I met him and he said he trusted in me, that I was going to be important, that the team[’s play] would be good for me. In a moment like that, a few small words can change you.
“I felt a lot of faith in me. He gave me the confidence to play my football. I got an idea into my head: give everything, your life, regardless of the personal moment you’re in.”
Raphinha continued: “The coach-player relationship is the most important in football. From the moment [Flick] arrived, we could talk to him about anything – and anything is anything.
“That time, I saw him, head down. At first, I didn’t really understand why. I asked what was wrong. He said he felt the team wasn’t playing well. From what I remember, I told him it was OK, we’d won and we would play well again. I prefer a thousand times to win playing badly than lose playing well. Win games, confidence and the football comes.”
The winger emphasised the profound impact of that managerial support on his overall self-belief. He added: “I always have and always will say that he changed my mentality, changed me as a person.”
