Barcelona officials ‘stunned’ by Raphinha’s Brazil national team call-up – report

Barcelona officials ‘stunned’ by Raphinha’s Brazil national team call-up – report Raphinha’s start to the season was as explosive as starts get. The Barcelona captain simply looked unstoppable in front of goal, and momentum was on his side as he even netted back-to-back hat-tricks. Everything fell apart when he was called up for international duty by Carlo Ancelotti and used like a bar of soap against relatively unimportant opponents. The manager pushed Raphinha to the limit in the team’s games against Australia, and he eventually suffered a thigh injury that ruled him out for Barcelona’s games after the international break. Even after returning from injury, he has appeared to be a shadow of his former self and has not performed at the same level as he did before. Ancelotti shocks Barcelona again Barcelona are shocked by Raphinha’s call-up. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) As reported in an exclusive update by The Touchline , Barcelona are astonished by Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to include Raphinha in his squad for the upcoming international break in November. After all, the captain has still not completely recovered from his setback and is still not at 100% physically. To be the causative agent of his last injury and to call him up again just days after his return from injury, needless to say, is appalling. In a day and age where schedules are only getting more hectic, there simply has to be some attention given to player welfare and fitness. After all, Ancelotti has never shown any restraint in fielding the Barcelona star in Brazil’s games and has seldom even taken the player off despite finding means to rotate other big names. A long-drawn history Raphinha has a history of suffering injuries on international duty.. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images) What makes the situation all the more uncomfortable for Barcelona is the fact that Raphinha has a long history of picking up injuries on international duty, simply because his minutes are not managed well. Even after El Clasico , Hansi Flick confirmed that Raphinha himself asked to be taken off as his body was not able to take the load, and while the German coach unsurprisingly prioritised the winger’s fitness, the same cannot be expected from Ancelotti. This time around, Brazil are set to play in Singapore on November 14th and 17th, and the player will have to undertake a journey of close to 11,000 km just for the inconsequential friendlies. Interestingly, players from Palmeiras and Flamengo have been excluded to honour domestic commitments.