It was revealed that Manchester United wants to sign the captain of Barcelona, and if Xavi coaches him, he will replace Rashford! Barcelona asked for 100 million

Barcelona's new captain Raphinha scored a hat-trick against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, achieving the joke of "82 Lafite". The Brazil international has also been linked with Manchester United recently, and the Red Devils are interested in bringing him in, especially if Xavi is in charge in the future.

Xavi has been rumoured to be on the shortlist for United's future manager, with chief executive Omar · Berlarda flying to Barcelona last week, and while the official narrative is to discuss Sir Ji·m Ratcliffe's INEOS team, a meeting with Xavi is also believed to be part of the itinerary.

According to the Spain transfer network, Xavi told United in two talks that he wanted to sign Barca's Raphinha if he was in charge. The Brazil winger played in the Premier League at Leeds United, with whom the Red Devils were also involved at the time, but Raphinha eventually opted for Barca and Manchester United signed a €100 million parallel importer Antony.

Spain's Daily Sport revealed that both Manchester United and Barcelona looked at Raphinha and Antony at the time, and Barca conducted an extensive analysis of the two, with sporting director Cruyff Jr. and manager Xavi both believing that Raphinha was a better fit for them because he had played for Bielsa at Leeds United.

Barca's analysis is that Antony likes to show off his individual skills, while Raphinha is more of a team, more able to link up in attack and responsible defensively. Manchester United, on the other hand, believe that Antony has played for Ten Hag and may be easier to fit in. Eventually, Raphinha joined Barça, and his transfer fee was 42 million euros cheaper than Ten Hag's choice of Antony, the former Ajax team.

Although Raphinha has also experienced a slump at Camp Nou, he has been in red-hot form this season, scoring nine goals and providing eight assists in 13 games in all competitions. Under the tutelage of Hans · Flick, the 27-year-old Brazil will excel. He has three years left on his contract with Barca, but reports suggest they will agree to sell if a team makes a bid of €100 million (£83.3 million).

Such a deal price would make Raphinha the second-most expensive signing in Manchester United's history, tied with Antony behind Paul Pogba. Raphinha was rumoured to move to the Saudi Arabia Pro League this summer, but he made it clear that he wanted to stay at Barca to prove himself, and he did. In 100 games for Barcelona, he has scored 29 goals and provided 33 assists.

But if United want to bring in Raphinha, they may have to sell Marcus Rashford, the team's main winger for many years. Whether Ten Hag will do so is hard to say, but Xavi is said to have deemed it necessary, believing Raphinha's replacement for Marcus Rashford would bring a new dimension to United's attack and that the Brazil could help the Red Devils re-establish themselves in England and continental Europe.

Marcus Rashford and Barcelona have also been linked on a number of occasions, so if a deal is to be made, a swap between the two would also be a model to consider. Of course, in the realities of international football, it is not easy to complete such an exchange, but it is not without precedent. Barcelona have traded Samuel Eto'o for Inter Milan, while Manchester United and Arsenal have also traded Mkhitaryan and Alexis Sanchez for the club.

However, Xavi's inability to manage United remains in doubt, with Ten Hag's long-term future still uncertain, so the story of Raphinha and the Red Devils remains limited to rumours for now.