Just in: Barcelona captain will renew his contract with the club this week

Just in: Barcelona captain will renew his contract with the club this week In a major development, journalist Ramon Salmurri via Catalunya Radio reports that FC Barcelona captain and winger Raphinha will renew his contract with the club this week. The 29-year-old superstar has been in sublime form this season, embracing his new role as a centre-forward, and the Catalans are intent on rewarding his brilliant performances with a new deal. Agreement already reached During the club’s General Assembly, Barcelona sporting director Deco had already confirmed that Barcelona were close to renewing Raphinha’s contract with an agreement having been secured. “It has been progressing since yesterday. We have agreed that he will stay until 2030,” he revealed during the assembly. Raphinha, for his part, has always maintained that he has always wanted to prolong his stay at Barça, despite having had lucrative proposals from Saudi Arabia in the recent past. Renewal imminent. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) With the agreement reached, it is now expected that the Brazilian winger, who joined Barcelona from Leeds United in 2022, will sign his new contract with the La Liga champions later this week. Leading by example Raphinha’s current contract with the Blaugrana runs until the summer of 2028, having penned a new deal with the club last year. Since then, though, the 29-year-old Brazilian international has seen an immense rise in prominence within the team. Having played an important role in the club’s back-to-back La Liga title triumphs, Raphinha was named the first captain by Hansi Flick this season and he has led the team by example from the front. Raphinha will renew until 2030. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images) In eight matches across all competitions, Raphinha has already bagged 14 goals and three assists, and is currently the La Liga top scorer with 12 strikes from seven appearances. The forward returned from national team duty with Brazil last week carrying a minor injury, but he is expected to be fully fit and ready to face Getafe later this week. However, it will not come as a surprise to see Flick take things easy with his ace goalscorer, considering that Barcelona have bigger games coming up against the likes of PSG and Real Madrid later on this month.