Barça: Rafinha seals Celta loan move after Ansu Fati's star rises
The Brazil international sees his options at Camp Nou as being limited this season and has signed a new deal but joined Celta for the 2019-20 campaign.
Barcelona midfielder Rafinha is set to join Celta Vigo on a season-long loan deal immediately after signing a contract extension at Camp Nou.
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The Brazil international’s original Barça deal expires next summer but the 26-year-old has decided to move to Balaídos to seek regular first-team football with Ernesto Valverde well-stocked in his preferred positions on the right wing and in attacking midfield after the additions of Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong and the emergence of a new star turn in the form of 16-year-old Ansu Fati, who is likely to see plenty more action this season after becoming the club’s youngest-ever scorer in the draw against Osasuna last weekend.
Rafinha following the family tradition
As such, Rafinha accepted Barcelona’s offer of a one-year extension to take his current contract through to the 2020-21 season and has joined Celta for current campaign with no purchase option included in the agreement despite a request for one from the Galician club.
Rafinha has joined Denis Suárez, Santi Mina and Pape Cheikh in returning to Vigo this summer, where the Brazilian spent a season on loan under Luis Enrique in 2013-14. The Alcântara family’s ties with the club run Deep; Rafinha’s father Mazinho having represented the club between 1996 and 2000, with Thiago and Rafinha in Celta’s junior ranks during the same period.