Midfielder Rafinha Alcântara, a product of the Barcelona academy, has decided to end his footballing journey after a 32-year career, which was riddled with ups and downs due to the presence of injuries.
Rafinha is a footballing wonder after all, as not only is his father, Mazinho, a World Cup champion, but his older brother, Thiago Alcântara, is also a world-class player. The talent first saw the light at the Barça academy and henceforth made the best out of it, debuting in 2011. He looked to be a bright star at Camp Nou but was clawed back by the recurrent illnesses of his knees, which ultimately limited his opportunities at the club over the years, where he accumulated only 90 appearances.
That season when Barcelona achieved the unthinkable, in the 2014-15, winning a treble title, was the highlight of Rafinha’s career under the guidance of Luis Enrique. He was part of the team that won the La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. In this period of time, he had trouble with his knees – injuring them – a set of episodes that consequently limited his playing time and advancements to the extreme, after all, the injuries were of a serious nature, such as the cruciate ligament and the meniscus.
Rafinha was, after that, loaned to Inter Milan and Celta Vigo prior to becoming a PSG player in 2020; nonetheless, he was always plagued by fitness concerns, which made it tough for him to have a tangible influence. The expiration of his contract was with Al Arabi in Qatar, and it was his last season when the knee injury that finally forced his retirement came again.
He broke the news on his channel by stating that he had done it all, and he was just thankful for the existence of those people, his relatives, the fans, and the sporting world altogether. The ex-Barcelona playmaker also included the sport itself as one of the things he was grateful for, but admitted that he could no longer perform at the highest level.
The Spanish club, on the other hand, responded with a statement expressing their admiration for Rafinha’s dedication and applauding his contribution to the side, which was going through tough times as well as being a memorable one.
