Revealed: Why Raphinha was unexpectedly dropped for Barcelona's rout of Valencia as Hansi Flick punishes his captain

Raphinha did go on to figure prominently against Valencia, as he bagged a brace in a crushing 6-0 win. That impact did, however, have to be made from off the bench. Teen sensation Roony Bardghji was handed his full debut against Los Che in his place.

Raphinha replaced the youngster at half-time, with Barca leading by one goal at that point, and scored twice in the space of nine second-half minutes as Fermin Lopez and Robert Lewandowski also netted two efforts apiece.

According to The Athletic, Raphinha was included among the substitutes “because he was late to a pre-game muscle activation session on Sunday morning”. He had started Barca’s three previous La Liga fixtures this season, all while wearing the armband.

He is not the first player to fall foul of Flick’s strict timekeeping rules. Jules Kounde was taken out of Barca’s starting line-up on three occasions last season after being late to pre-match meetings, while goalkeeper Inaki Pena missed out on a Super Cup clash with Athletic Club after breaching the same policy.

Raphinha has served his punishment and will expect to make an immediate return to Barcelona’s starting XI next time out against Newcastle in the Champions League on Thursday. He hit a personal-best 34 goals last season to force his way into Ballon d’Or contention.