It was the kind of chance Raphinha would have missed a year ago. Pedri made it, playing a delightful dink over the Paris Saint-Germain backline, and the Brazilian gleefully converted it, watching the ball fall over his left shoulder before slicing a volley into the bottom corner. That strike - one that seemed to unlikely from this player just months ago - kickstarted Barcelona's comeback victory over PSG, and helped give the Spanish side the advantage in their Champions League quarter-final tie.
More broadly, last Wednesday at Parc des Princes was the realisation of a talent that had always been there, just waiting to be unlocked. Raphinha signed for Barca back in July 2022 at a cost of €59 million (£50m/$59m), but has spent the past 18 months battling to show his best.
Now, though, he has finally found a glimmer of form having carved out space in Xavi's line up, and is showing the kind of attacking quality Barca insisted they were buying. Alas, it might not last.
Raphinha is now faced with becoming the ultimate bargaining chip; a player who has just found his best, but whose performances have only dragged his price up ahead of what could now be a lucrative summer sale for his financially-crippled club.
