Raphael Dias Belloli, famously known as Raphinha, is one of Bielsa’s most trusted soldiers,
and has been since he signed for Leeds United from Rennes in 2020.
The Brazilian winger is pacy, skillful,
and very entertaining on the ball like the typical Brazilian forward.
If you follow the Premier League, chances are that you know who Raphinha is. But in this video,
we will be telling you 10 things you probably didn't know about Leeds’ number 10.
1. He could have played for Italy
Raphinha was born and grew up in Brazil, but he is also of partial Italian descent. His father
is part Italian, but his mom is fully Brazilian.
As a result of that, he could have chosen to play for Roberto Mancini’s men if he wanted to.
But the 24-year-old opted to play with the Samba Boys and has
already scored 2 goals in just 3 games he has played for Brazil so far.
2. He is from a footballing family
Although Raphinha’s father is a musician,
he played football for some time during his childhood. His grandfather was a professional
footballer who played in the 1960s. And he has an uncle who played for Inter Milan.
His father and uncle also have a very good relationship with former Ballon d’Or winner,
Ronaldinho, which led Raphinha to meet the football legend at a very
young age of 7 and many more times after then.
3. He begged for food many times growing up
Raphinha grew up in Porto Alegre. And if that sounds familiar,
perhaps that’s because the city is also home to the great Ronaldinho. And like the story is for
most famous footballers who grew up in that city, Raphinha grew up in relative poverty.
The Leeds man once talked about how difficult it was having to share a room with his parents,
younger brother, and pets. He has also talked about how he struggled to pay
travel costs in those days, and on a number of occasions, had to even beg for food to survive.
His story is a typical grass-to-grace story, and as it is with thousands of others, it is
thanks to the beautiful game that Raphinha now lives a far better life than he did growing up.
4. He never went to school
Raphinha never passed through a conventional school system.
And no, it was not because his parents could not afford it.
They just had a different idea of the type of education that young Raphael should be getting.
His parents noticed how talented he was at a very young age and
immediately enrolled him into a football academy,
Monte Castello. And it would turn out to be one of the best decisions Raphinha’s parents ever made.
As a pre-teen and teenager, Raphinha was already playing with and against adults
in his neighborhood. And although small, he would mesmerize and embarrass them with
his footwork and trickery. Great to see he did not abandon that part of his football.
5. He was rejected multiple times for being skinny
Raphinha right now is not the biggest of players by any stretch
of your imagination. So, you can imagine how he was when he was much younger.
But his size, which he now uses to his advantage,
was one of the things that hindered him from playing professional football for some time.
As a young lad who grew up in Brazil, Raphinha’s dream was to play for Sport Club Internacional,
one of the biggest football clubs in Brazil, and perhaps the biggest in Porto Alegre.
Unfortunately for him, he was rejected by the club. Efforts by his agent to try and
convince the club to look past his size and sign the skillful young boy proved abortive.
He tried and tried again to get into the club,
but he was rejected repeatedly. Not once, not twice, but three times.
He also tried to get signed by Gremio,
another big club in Porto Alegre, but got rejected by them, too.
He finally gave up. Not on football, just on getting signed by clubs in his
hometown. But honestly, he nearly gave up on football altogether. But his mother motivated
him by telling him that if he gave up on his dream, he would have to find a regular job
like being a barber or working at a supermarket, which would not make him as happy as football.
So, he decided to keep trying at football. He got on a bus and left
his city on an empty stomach. He went to Santa Catarina state
where he finally started playing youth football for Imbituba Futebol Clube.
Then from there, he was scouted by Avai Futebol Clube, another club in Santa
Catarina. He started out with their under-20 side and was later promoted to the senior team at 18.
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6. He used to get death threats
When he was still playing at Varzea tournaments in Brazil, typically at away games,
Raphinha would get death threats repeatedly. And these were not just texts or emails,
mobs would actually show up at the changing room where he is at and threaten him.
According to him, it was usually the home fans. They would practically try to break the door down,
and when they couldn't, they would yell stuff at him like “you will
never make it out of here alive” “if you win this game, we will kill you”.
He went further to talk about how it was playing at Verzea tournaments. According to him,
you would literally see bosses of the home clubs in the stands with guns. And sometimes, when you
are about to take a shot, you would just hear a gunshot. And of course, that would shake anybody.
Now, because of that background, Raphinha enjoys the pressure when he plays.
Varzea made him tough and although he hated those threats, he loves how tough he made him.
7. He was discovered by former Chelsea and Barcelona superstar, Deco
In 2016, after Raphinha impressed in an under-20 competition in Brazil, he was scouted by former
Barcelona and Chelsea star, Deco. Deco saw Raphinha play for Avai and knew instantly that the
Brazilian had what it took to make it in Europe, so, he signed him to his agency D20 sports.
After signing him, he immediately arranged
for him to be transferred to Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal.
And Raphinha did not take long to prove Deco right. He hit the ground running, and
the following year after his signing, he was voted Vitoria Guimaraes Breakthrough Player of the Year.
He had such a good second season with the club, scoring 18 goals in 43 games,
that he was immediately snatched up by Sporting CP,
one of the biggest clubs in Portugal, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s first senior club.
8. He is a big philanthropist
Raphinha is one person who never forgets where he came from. Since he made it to Europe and started
earning big bucks, he has been known to always give back to his people in Restinga, Brazil.
Apart from what he has done to change his immediate family’s life, he also supports
football academies back in Brazil financially. He has also been pictured actually showing up at the
training grounds of some of these academies to support, motivate, and encourage the young boys.
9. He nearly lost his leg
In a Premier League game against City at the Etihad,
Raphinha had to be taken off after a horrid tackle by fellow countryman Fernandinho.
At first, he thought it was nothing big. He had experienced worse at the Varzea,
so he told the manager that he would be fine in 3 days, max.
But he got home and he could not understand the pain he was feeling. The leg swelled
and had become twice as big as his other leg. His blood pressure dropped. He couldn’t walk.
He could not even move that leg. He had to call his doctor who showed up immediately.
The pain was so bad that Raphinha had to be given anesthesia. Apparently,
he had an internal haematoma which meant that he had bled internally and the blood
had even started to clot. So, he needed surgery done to remove all the blood.
After a few days, he was discharged, and he even began to walk without crutches. But then,
the pain came back again and he had to go to the hospital four more times after that.
According to him, he was in so much pain that he thought he was going to lose his leg.
The doctors eventually drained about 100 milliliters of blood from his leg.
It was such an experience for him. Even when he returned after a couple months,
he played with some pain in his leg. It took some time before his leg completely healed.
10. Guess who his best friend is…
No, he is not a Brazilian. And he is also not a Leeds player.
His closest friend in the Premier League is Manchester United’s Portuguese marksman.
Oh no, not Cristiano Ronaldo. Sure he wishes. It’s Bruno Fernandes.
They played together at Sporting CP. But they were friends even before then
and remained friends after. Raphinha calls him a big hard worker and an inspiration.
According to him, Bruno helped him settle really quickly when he arrived at Sporting.
Also, when he left Sporting to Rennes, Bruno gave him really valuable advice.
When Raphinha was signed by Leeds, Bruno who was already a United player by then
texted him and said that his style would suit the Premier League perfectly.
And well, he didn’t lie because Raphinha has been enjoying his time at Leeds since he joined.
Well, there you have it. 10 things you didn’t already know about Raphinha.
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