Raphinha relishing competition Rashford will bring at Barcelona – Soccer News

Raphinha has welcomed the added competition in Barcelona’s forward line following the arrival of Marcus Rashford.

Rashford completed a season-long loan switch from Manchester United last month after falling out of favour under Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.

The LaLiga champions also have the option to buy him next year for a reported €30m (£26m).

The 27-year-old spent the second half of the 2024-25 campaign on loan at Aston Villa, directly contributing to nine goals for Unai Emery’s side in all competitions.

Rashford joins a star-studded attack at the Blaugrana, who scored 174 goals across all competitions last season, more than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues.

Robert Lewandowski (42), Raphinha (34), Ferran Torres (19) and Lamine Yamal (18) were among those leading from the front for Hansi Flick’s team.

“When you play with this jersey, with this club, you need to be prepared for all the competition that there is,” Raphinha told Diario Sport about the competition Rashford will bring.

“In my opinion, the more competition we have, the better. It means that one helps the other progress and that is the most important thing if we want to win titles.”

Rashford has made two appearances since his move, coming on as a substitute in Barcelona’s pre-season victories over Vissel Kobe and Seoul.

Done deal pic.twitter.com/rZVflMWy4M

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 23, 2025

Raphinha enjoyed a fine individual campaign last season, registering 56 goal involvements (34 goals, 22 assists) in 57 outings for Barcelona in all competitions.

Indeed, only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (57 – 34 goals, 23 assists) managed more than Raphinha among players in Europe’s top five leagues.

And while helping Barcelona to a domestic treble last season, Raphinha believes there is still room for improvement heading into the new campaign.

“I always try to find my best form in training, games, the season,” he said.

“I tried that last season, it was better than the previous one, and I will try for this coming season to also be better than the last.”

Raphinha’s performances in the Champions League in particular caught the eye.

The Brazilian equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s competition record from 2013-14 of 21 goal involvements in a single campaign in Europe’s elite competition.

He scored 13 times in the Champions League, a total only former Barcelona great Lionel Messi (14 in 2011-12) has ever managed.

But the Blaugrana were beaten in the semi-finals of the competition by Serie A side Inter, and they have now not won the Champions League since 2015.

“The Champions League is a personal challenge in my career,” Raphinha added. “It’s also a club goal, to win our sixth Champions League title.

“I, in particular, will do everything possible to make it happen. And I’m sure the players are thinking the same thing.”