Oct 21, 2026, 04:00 AM ET

Raphinha's career has been characterized by constant change -- first, as he hopped between clubs in Brazil, Portugal, France, England and Spain. Recently, after settling in at Barcelona since 2022, the change has come in a different way: through coaches and his positioning on the pitch.

The Brazil international joined Xavi Hernández's Barça from Leeds United as a right winger, went on to excel on the left flank under Hansi Flick and is now delivering world-class performances this season as a No. 9, scoring 14 goals in 10 games going into Sunday's Clásico against Real Madrid (watch live at 3 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN+).

It's perhaps no surprise to see him fulfilling so many different roles. Victor Orta, the sporting director who signed him for Leeds back in 2020, even imagined him playing in other positions.

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"I remember one day watching Vitória de Guimarães and thinking he could play as a wing back," Orta tells ESPN. "He had a different style to the typical, technical Brazilian. I said, 'Wow, he looks like he could run the 400 meters in athletics.'"

Raphinha will be 30 in December, and his path to the top of the game has not always been obvious. The 7-year-old who attended Ronaldinho's birthday party was not among the many Brazilian teenagers catapulted straight to one of Europe's elite clubs.

Instead, after fighting his way through várzea tournaments in his homeland -- dubbed by Raphinha himself as "the home of the rejects" -- he landed in Portugal with Vitória, going on to play for Sporting CP and then to French Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais. However, it was at Leeds, in the Premier League spotlight, where his career accelerated.

Raphinha at Leeds

That is not to say it has been straightforward since. He was not always happy with his game time under former coach Xavi Hernández at Barça and thought he would leave the Spanish champions before Hansi Flick took over in 2024.

In Flick, he has found a manager whose style fits him superbly. The same could be said with Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds, although the Argentine coach wasn't convinced at first.

"Raphinha had been on our radar for a while, but the deal only became possible late in the transfer window," says Orta, now working at Spanish club Real Valladolid. "I was in the barbers one Saturday, very early, and I got a message from someone working with [Raphinha's then-agent, now Barça sporting director] Deco saying: 'Raphinha can leave because a new player is coming in.'

"I remember telling Marcelo. Perhaps because he didn't know him so well, the first reaction was: 'Do you know if he is good? Let me think...'

"But the market was closing. I told Marcelo to trust me. I remember he did some research, called me and said he had good opinions on the player. I said, 'OK, that's good because he's flying in now.'"

Even the flight had been hastily arranged after several Rennes players attempted to scupper the transfer, but a move for Jérémy Doku meant Orta got the deal over the line.

"Three of the team's captains went to the chairman and said, 'Raphinha is not leaving, we need Raphinha,'" Orta says. "They were pushing, but the club needed the deal because they wanted the money for another player that was coming in, which was Doku.

"I put him on the plane without Marcelo's permission because with my team, and especially a guy called Carlos Vargas, we had the feeling he was top. The statistics -- high-speed sprints, intensity -- showed someone with the physicality for the Premier League, a clear fit for Marcelo."

The prediction was not wrong. Raphinha, a relentless runner, was a match for Bielsa. Over two years, he scored 17 goals, twice helping Leeds avoid relegation from England's top flight.

"He's one of the greatest players I've ever played with," said Rodrigo Moreno, Raphinha's teammate at Leeds. "He's capable of repeating high-intensity actions over and over again during a match. Given what Bielsa demanded, he adapted to the league instantly."

Raphinha's impact even goes beyond those he played with. Current Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu, who joined the club a year after Raphinha left, said: "It's pretty special what he's done. He was here before I was. And everyone here speaks so highly of him. They can't, they'll never say a bad word about him. And that also is represented within the fans. He's very much loved here."

Raphinha's last act for Leeds was to score a penalty in the comeback win at Brentford in 2022 to secure survival. After the match, he walked the length of the pitch on his knees in an act of gratitude -- something he has repeated when Barça have won trophies (seven so far, including three league titles).

His future already lay elsewhere at that point, but in helping Leeds stay up, he also ensured his release clause didn't plummet with clubs lining up to sign him.

"If we were relegated, his clause was €24 million," Orta says. "But he fought for us until the last game and then [Barça] paid €54 million with bonuses, perhaps now €60 million.

"I can tell you now that one team, not Barcelona, called us the Thursday before the Brentford game offering €30 million, €6 million more than the clause. I said to [the owners], 'I trust Raphinha. He's going to fight until the end. The clause doesn't matter.'" -- Sam Marsden

Analysis: Signs of stardom

In attack, Bielsa's Leeds were known for playing at a quicker speed, utilizing vertical movements and placing a heavy emphasis on wingplay. Out of possession, their ability to manufacture high turnovers from an aggressive man-marking scheme helped them create dynamic opportunities. Raphinha not only fit into that tactical landscape, he helped accentuate it in different ways.

On the ball, Raphinha added value during earlier phases by combining with teammates through quick interplays and layoffs against pressure with either foot. In the final third, he used a variety of passes, from whipped crosses to lobs over the top, alongside above-average decision-making to be a high-end creator.

Off the ball, speed and acceleration amplified his runs. He would execute plenty of out-to-in cuts from the right side, even if it led to some offside calls. A common pattern involved him switching the play, and then quickly sprinting for near-post or back-post shots.

His impressive work rate also benefited Leeds' press and defensive structure, a necessity within Bielsa's intense game model.

Compared to his debut campaign, 2021-22 was a down season. Opponents were able to better prepare for Bielsa ball, aided by a major injury crisis that to some extent stemmed from such a demanding style of play. His rate of non-penalty goals and assists per 90 minutes went from 0.57 to 0.31. Per Opta, his non-penalty expected goals and assists per 90 rate also saw a dip from 0.48 to 0.41.

Despite those drops, Raphinha was still an above-average attacker. According to Scout Lab, among qualified attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe's Big Five leagues, he was in the 93rd percentile in expected threat created, and 88th in offensive action VAEP (valuing actions by estimating probabilities).

With Raphinha's ability to operate both on and off the ball, it was no surprise that Barcelona signed him. -- Mohamed Mohamed

Raphinha at Barça under Xavi

Raphinha picked Barça over Premier League options, but he was not an instant success with the Catalan club. He enjoyed good times and endured bad times under Xavi, with competition on the right wing from Ousmane Dembélé and, later, Lamine Yamal limiting his minutes.

Despite that, he managed 20 goals in two seasons under Xavi, and it was during the club legend's tenure in charge that he first began to play on the left, impressing in a UEFA Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain in the spring of 2024.

The feeling was that he did not quite fit in, though, and Raphinha told ESPN last year that he had considered leaving the club several times. Flick quickly made sure that did not happen, explaining in his first telephone conversation with Raphinha that his characteristics, not stereotypically Brazilian, would be vital to his way of playing.

"Maybe he does not have the creativity like [Neymar and Ronaldinho], but in this new football, if you don't have this intensity, you cannot get to the next level," Orta says.

"It was a perfect match because Hansi empowered the physicality, the verticality and the pressing. The German school is the perfect style for him. He's like a German with Brazilian technique." -- Marsden

Analysis: Struggling for minutes

Upon joining Barcelona, Raphinha gained the luxury of creating chances for an elite striker like Robert Lewandowski, and also getting on the end of passes from a slew of talented passers such as Pedri and Sergio Busquets.

Transitioning from Bielsa's style at Leeds to how Xavi coached Barcelona didn't look to be too difficult, since both coaches wanted their wingers primarily positioned near the sidelines to help stretch the pitch, and be a potential outlet for one-on-one situations.

Statistically, Raphinha's numbers improved dramatically, likely due to having better players around him. Per Scout Lab, he went from a non-penalty expected goals (npxG) per 90 rate of 0.22 (65th percentile) to 0.40 (95th) in 2022-23, and his open-play expected assists (xA) per 90 more than doubled from 0.16 (69th percentile) to 0.34 (98th). His 2023-24 numbers were at a similar level.

Although Raphinha produced like a star, he never fully earned Xavi's trust. While he did play 2,083 league minutes in 2022-23 per TruMedia, that dropped to only 1,371 in 2023-24.

The emergence of Yamal played a significant part, but there would be matches in which he was substituted relatively early in the second half. He played the full 90 minutes only eight times.

With Lewandowski locking down the striker position, Raphinha nailed on at the wing and the team suffering from stretches of unthreatening and predictable possession, there was a natural limit on the heights Raphinha could reach under Xavi. -- Mohamed

Raphinha at Barça under Flick

Raphinha's first season under Flick was electric: 34 goals from the left wing as part of an attack alongside Yamal and Lewandowski as Barça won a domestic treble and reached the Champions League semifinals. The usually placid Flick branded it a "joke" when those performances didn't earn him a place in FIFA's Best XI. Even last season, despite injuries, Raphinha managed 21 goals in 33 appearances.

The numbers so far this season have moved into another stratosphere. Barça had wanted to sign Julián Álvarez from Atlético Madrid in the summer after strikers Lewandowski and Ferran Torres both left. Instead they have converted Raphinha, who was named the club captain this summer, to great effect with 14 goals in all competitions already.

Speak to people close to the forward and the words you will hear over and over again are "ambition" and "hard work" to explain his ascent into one of the best players in the world.

"He loves work," Orta says. "He's a player that loves training. He's a player that loves the next level. All that he's getting now is from hard work, hard work, hard work every day.

"For him, there is never a limit. He wants to push his own limits; now obviously as a No. 9. It's incredible. I would be stupid to say I was expecting [these numbers], but I will say that the hard work is the reason.

"When he left, I said to him, 'Go to Barcelona and don't change anything. Don't change anything that you are, because if you don't change, you can continue to develop.'

"Hard work, no limits, an open mentality to grow -- and humble enough to think he can improve. This is absolutely ambition. He's the meaning of ambition in the right way." -- Marsden

Flick: Raphinha is very happy to play as a nine for Barcelona

Analysis: Superstar central attacker

The stylistic change from Xavi to Flick played a huge role in Raphinha becoming one of football's most prolific attackers. Hiring Flick came with a greater emphasis on inject pace and accelerating play, even if it meant sacrificing some out-of-possession solidity.

Within this came a positional change for Raphinha. During the 2024-25 season, he was ostensibly deployed on the left wing, but in reality would often roam inward as a second striker. If Lewandowski dropped deeper, Raphinha moved into the previously vacated position. Those intense off-ball runs were now originating from the interior, rather than from wide. With Yamal as the lead creator on the right side, the front three found elite chemistry together.

Unsurprisingly, Raphinha's combination of being less ball-dominant and finding himself in more dangerous areas led to elite production. His non-penalty goals per 90 rate spiked from 0.33 in 2023-24 to 0.51 in 2024-25. Per Scout Lab, his npxG per 90 also increased from 0.43 to 0.56, placing him in the 99th percentile.

His movement got him into advantageous areas for both shooting and chance-creating attempts, shown by his 91st-percentile open-play xA per 90 of 0.25. Raphinha's Ballon d'Or candidacy was also bolstered by a remarkable 21 goal involvements in Barcelona's run to the Champions League semifinals.

Raphinha performed at a similar level a year later, but injuries limited him to less than 1,500 league minutes. The departures of Lewandowski and Ferran Torres over the summer, alongside an ultimately fruitless chase for Julián Alvarez, led to questions on who would operate as Barcelona's No. 9.

It turned out Raphinha had one more transformation in him: becoming a lightning-quick striker. The Brazilian has been scoring goals for fun, with 12 in only eight LaLiga matches.

His second goal vs. Feyenoord in Barcelona's 5-1 victory was a great illustration on how devastating Raphinha's off-ball movement has become. He used Tsuyoshi Watanabe's tight man-marking against him, executing a double movement toward the box before slotting home. -- Mohamed

What a start to the season for Raphinha 🔥 His 8th goal in his first 5 games 🇧🇷 Don't miss the #UCL on @paramountplus 🍿 https://t.co/EFGxCHn6rv

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 9, 2026

An injury during the recent international break did slightly put the brakes on, but Raphinha returned as a substitute against Real Betis at the weekend and played an hour in Tuesday's 4-2 loss at PSG.

"The manager took me off there and I was a bit annoyed," he said postmatch. "I think I could have lasted a few more minutes, Obviously, we always want to be on the pitch, given the importance of the match, but it's all fine. I'm getting back to full fitness again. It had already been planned that I'd play fewer minutes, but it's the sort of match where, once it's over, you just want to play again."

On Sunday, he will lead the line against Barça's bitter rivals Madrid, when Flick's side can set a new record for the best-ever start to a LaLiga campaign by making it 10 wins from 10 in 2026-27.

It remains to be seen if he has now found his final form as a striker after a career filled with change. One constant, at least, has been his act of traversing the pitch on his knees after notable club success. Barça will hope to see that again next spring.

They have lofty ambitions this season, including winning a first Champions League crown since 2015, which would further cement Raphinha's ever-growing legacy at the club. But first: the Clásico. -- Marsden