“My dream is to play for Barcelona until the end of my career”

Brazilian striker Raphael Dias 'Raphinha' assured on Thursday, after extending his contract with Barcelona until June 30th, 2028, that his “dream” is to play for the Catalan team “until the end” of his career.

“I leave here very happy. I have achieved a personal goal and I hope I can continue to give the fans a lot of joy. My dream is to be here until the end of my career and I hope to continue giving my best,” said the attacker in statements to the Catalan club's media.

The 28-year-old Brazilian is one of the stars of the season in world football, as in less than a year he has gone from being close to moving to Saudi Arabia, according to his own admission, to becoming one of the stars of Hansi Flick's Barca and extending his contract with the Catalan giants.

This season, his third in Barcelona, he has beaten the best records of his career: 34 goals and 22 assists in 4,567 minutes in 56 matches -with one game left to play-, 52 as a starter.

In this sense, the Brazilian international confessed that he hopes to “continue scoring many goals and providing many assists” to continue winning “many titles” with the blue and white jersey.

“I hope I can win titles every year, participate in the bus parade and see people happy with what we have given during the season. That's my goal,” he added.

Raphinha, who signed for Barcelona in the summer of 2022 from English side Leeds, admitted that he has “matured a lot” since joining the Catalan side and was ambitious in stating that he can still grow “a lot more” with everyone's help.

“Now I'm the Raphinha dad, the captain, the guy who has to be more responsible than when he arrived, which is not to say I wasn't before, but the years go by and you become more mature,” he reflected.

The Porto Alegre striker also said he is “anxious” to return to play at the Spotify Camp Nou, which will once again host official first-team matches from September, according to the club's plans.