FC Barcelona forward Raphinha has said working with a psychologist is essential for anyone considering a professional football career and not letting the sport “destroy you”.
Raphinha, 27, has started the season in fine form, scoring a hat-trick in Saturday’s 7-0 win over Real Valladolid, but his time at Barca has not always been easy.
Since joining from Leeds United in 2022 for €55 million ($60.7 million), he has struggled to adapt at the club, seen his performances criticised and has been regularly linked with a move elsewhere.
Asked if he ever considered leaving Barca, Raphinha told RAC1: “Yes, during my first six months here. They were complicated for me and my family. I improved after the World Cup (in Qatar) and I finished the season well, but the adaptation was difficult.”
“I thought about leaving at certain moments, but those thoughts quickly passed. This is Barça. The club is huge, it’s normal that it’s difficult.
“If you work hard and want to make a career in football, you can’t give up. I had many reasons to give up, to leave football and move on with my life. It’s a job that destroys you.
“There were times when I came home and didn’t know if I was going to get up the next morning to train again. I cried, here (at Barça) too.
“I do psychological work because I have seen how important it is. Everyone should do it because it helps a lot.
“If you don’t take care of yourself, football destroys you. It’s very easy to fall into depression and give up on everything.”
Even this summer, after registering 10 goals and 13 assists in all competitions last season, Raphinha was linked with a move away from Barca, with English and Saudi Arabian clubs credited with an interest.
Meanwhile, Barca have been keen to sign a left winger, with Nico Williams and Federico Chiesa both targeted to fill a position that has belonged to Raphinha since the emergence of Lamine Yamal on the right.
“It’s annoying to see (these stories), even if it’s normal,” he added about the constant transfer speculation.
“Every day I go here or there. It ends up annoying you, of course, but I’ve always had my head there. I’ve received many offers, but the best for me is to be at Barça.”
Raphinha, who is one of the club’s captains this season, was not called up by Brazil during the September international break despite his impressive start to the season under new coach Hansi Flick, with Barca winning their first four games.
That means he will enjoy some time off over the weekend, but he was present in training on Tuesday as Flick bolstered the squad by calling up several youngsters, including US youth international Pedro Soma.
Soma, 18, joined the club’s reserve team from Cornellà last week and was an unused substitute in the weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Andorra in the Spanish third division.
He was one of six Barça Atlètic players called up by Flick, including defender Landry Farré, another member of the 2007 generation that produced Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and Marc Bernal.
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