Raphinha reveals he turned down the Chelsea transfer after speaking to Neymar and admits being surprised by the warm welcome from the fans

RAPHINHA has opened the door on his move to Barcelona and revealed the reason why he turned down a move to Chelsea.

The winger joined Barcelona from Leeds United for £57million in the summer.

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In so doing, he turned down an offer from Chelsea that saw The Blues fail in one of their key objectives.

However, Raphinha has revealed there was nothing they could do as it was his dream to play for Barcelona.

As quoted by BarcaTimes, he said: “I turned down Chelsea because it was my dream to wear the Barcelona shirt.”

The Brazilian also revealed that he had discussed his future with compatriot Neymar, with the PSG star telling him he would not regret joining the Blaugrana.

“I spoke to Neymar about a move and he told me that if I come to Barcelona I won’t regret it and he was right,” he added.

But Barcelona are a club with the highest standards, standards that haven’t been reached in years.

But amid the club’s rebuilding under Xavi, Raphinha revealed what surprised him the most was the atmosphere at the club.

He said: “What surprised me at the club? Undoubtedly the warm welcome from the fans, the coaching staff and the players, everyone is good and trying to help the new players.”

The 25-year-old is one of numerous options now available to the club following a colossal rebuild.

Still, Raphinha has made a decent start, with one goal and one assist in his first four games at the club.