Barcelona star: "If I had received an offer from the Italian national team, I would have been very close to accepting it"

"I was close to accepting the offer from the Italian national team."

Idman.biz reports that these words were said by Barcelona star Raphinha.

According to "La Gazzetta dello Sport", the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) made "strong efforts" to convince Raphinha to play for the Italian national team in 2020, before he debuted for the Brazilian national team in 2021.

Speaking about this, Raphinha also stated that Jorginho, the Brazilian-born midfielder of the Italian team, tried to convince him to accept the offer.

The 28-year-old footballer played in the Premier League for Leeds United from 2020 and moved to Barca in the summer of 2022.

Raphinha had the right to play for the Italian national team thanks to his father, Rafael Diaz Belloli, who has Italian roots.

Although the forward, who also has an Italian passport, represents Brazil in the international arena, he is not considered a footballer from a non-European Union country in Barcelona.

Barcelona director Deco also confirmed that FIGC made efforts to attract Raphinha to the Italian team.

If Raphinha had accepted the offer, he would not have been the only Italian-Brazilian in the team led by Roberto Mancini: Jorginho, Emerson Palmieri and Rafael Toloi, who have Brazilian roots, were part of the "Azzurri" team that won EURO-2020 in the summer of 2021.

Raphinha made confessions on this topic in an interview with journalist Isabela Pagliari: "I was going to the European Championship-2020, which they won. I was almost completely ready. The guys from the Italian national team called me. Jorginho and I were always talking. I liked the fantastic offer from the Italians. But at the same time, I still had the hope of wearing the Brazilian national team jersey. Fortunately, my Italian passport did not arrive on time."

Idman.biz