Barcelona’s Raphinha spoke out openly this evening about his ongoing battle with rookie teammate Lamine Yamal for starting duties.
Raphinha, for his part, had recently returned to action.
Fresh off his recent return from a spell on the sidelines with a thigh problem, the Brazilian was afforded his first start since early January.
And Raphinha went on to make his mark, to the tune of a goal and an assist in a 4-0 Barcelona drubbing of Getafe.
And yet, whilst boss Xavi will no doubt be delighted with the production of his gifted winger, such endeavours also give rise to something of a selection headache.
Whilst Raphinha was out of action, youngster Lamine Yamal was afforded a consistent run of starts on the left flank in his place.
And the 16-year-old shone bright, to the point of calls mounting across Barca’s fanbase for Lamine to be afforded a permanent berth in Xavi’s XI moving forward.
Speaking to the media post-match on Saturday, the subject of his incoming battle for minutes was, in turn, put to Raphinha.
The former Leeds United man, though, opted to focus on the positives, adamant that ‘competition is good’ for he and his teammates alike:
“I’m not worried about Lamine Yamal. It’s a pleasure to have him as a teammate. Surely he will become one of the best players in the world. Competition is good, it motivates us more.”
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