Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano reveals how close Man United were to signing Barcelona star

Fabrizio Romano has responded to Barcelona winger Raphinha revealing that he at one point came close to joining Manchester United as he spoke to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing column.

Raphinha did not make it clear when he came close to joining Man Utd, but Romano has clarified that it was when he was a youngster, rather than recently, so it seems he wasn’t set to leave Leeds for a move to their rivals.

The Brazil international shone during his time in the Premier League with Leeds, but it hasn’t quite gone as smoothly for him since his move to the Nou Camp, so one imagines he might be one to watch in terms of a move back to England at some point.

Romano says that won’t be happening this January, but for the summer he simply said we’ll have to wait and see, so perhaps that suggests Barca wouldn’t be against selling the 27-year-old.

“I’m aware that Raphinha has attracted attention by saying he nearly joined Manchester United, but it’s an old story really – when he was super young Man United were interested but then the deal was not completed. It’s nothing recent,” Romano said.

He added: “As for now, his future is at Barcelona for the January window, then again in the summer we will see what’s next.”

United might do well to strengthen their attack after the lack of impact from Antony, who plays a similar role to Raphinha, so it will be interesting to see if they revive that interest in him from all those years ago.