Brazilian star Raphinha is driving to reach the peak of his game with Barcelona. His love for the Catalan club and the way he reads a match have stirred plenty of debate since he arrived, a passionate player who lives every game with an intensity few can match. Giving 100% is never enough. He always wants to deliver 200%, a trait that has cost him dearly at times but explains most of the footballing character he has built.
According to Spanish newspaper "Sport", things were not always easy for Raphinha at Barcelona. He faced doubt during his first season, and some branded his signing a mistake as things failed to click. For all his effort, he could not find the technical consistency he needed, yet he never stopped grafting. He has become one of the finest examples of how a player can turn a difficult situation around through hard work and sacrifice. The Brazil international kept believing in himself until he became one of the most decisive men in the Catalan ranks.
The turning point now is simple. Alongside the intensity that has always marked him out, things have started to break his way. Maturity has arrived, and he can now settle matches with a regularity he had never shown before, putting him among the most important players in the squad, at a time when both player and club struggle to understand why his name is missing from the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist.
Raphinha's commitment reaches well beyond the pitch. He is among the most popular players in the dressing room and has grown into one of the team's leaders, taking special care of the young players. He is demanding too, with his team-mates and with himself, aware that part of his job is to help the team hold its highest level week in, week out.
Sources close to one of the first-team players told "Sport": "There are moments when we want to kill him, as he is like a coach playing alongside you, squeezing your energy to the maximum and always looking for the best for you, but he is a leader and in the end you learn that he is always right, and what he does is amazing." Those words lay bare how he leads the team from within.
His relationship with German coach Hansi Flick crackles. The pair talk football constantly and share an identical view on the level of demand and commitment inside the dressing room, which makes the Brazilian one of Flick's most trusted men in a two-way bond. Flick knows he has a player who can carry his messages to the rest of the squad, something that matters enormously in a dressing room full of young talent.
That same energy and drive surface when he reports for the Brazil national team. Raphinha feels a huge commitment to Barcelona and to his country alike, and always wants to produce his best regardless of the shirt. He came back injured twice after international breaks with Brazil, and Barcelona would have preferred him to return fully fit, but the club knows his character well. As the same sources told "Sport": "He is not the type of player who saves his effort when he takes to the pitch, and that is what makes him unique."
None of this means he should take needless risks, or that an injury is good news. It means his way of competing explains why he always tries to push as far as he can. Ask him to play with less intensity and you are asking him to stop being Raphinha.
For that very reason, the Brazilian star has not completely ruled himself out of this weekend's trip to Getafe. He knows a recovery in time looks difficult, and the club rates his chances of featuring as complicated, yet he wants one final attempt. He plans to test himself on the pitch tomorrow to gauge how he feels after individual training today. Even if he makes it, the plan is for him to start on the bench, because the forward wants to know how his body responds before officially ruling himself out.
He knows the season is still long and that the priority is to come back in the best possible shape. His eagerness to play changes none of that, but it proves once more just how dedicated and committed he is.
On contracts, Barcelona wanted to reward Raphinha's form and importance with a new deal, already agreed to run until 2030. The original plan was to hold the official ceremony today, Friday, but it has been pushed back several days because of the retirement of Pedro Rodríguez, who intends to announce his farewell to football from the club's stand, plus Hansi Flick's press conference, which forced the schedule to change.
The renewal ceremony is now set for next week, as soon as Barcelona return from Turkey, expected to take place between Wednesday and Friday, with the exact date still to be confirmed.
It will stand as a tribute to a player who completely transformed his standing at Barcelona, from someone whose ability was questioned to a key piece and one of the leading voices in the dressing room. Raphinha has started this season at an exceptional level, carrying on where he left off.
Barcelona know exactly what they have in Raphinha. He is a player who sometimes gives in to his emotions and does not always know how to ration his effort, yet his sacrifice has never been in doubt, and that may be one of the biggest secrets behind his success. He once gave everything he had without the results following. Now he keeps giving everything as one of the team's best players. He never learned to give just 99%, and looking at how far he has come, he has no intention of starting now.