Barça: Álvarez pursuit abandoned, Raphinha reaches 12 goals in seven La Liga matches

The Catalan club had made an offer for the Argentine forward during the summer transfer window. With Atlético maintaining that he was not for sale, Deco ruled out any further attempts in January. Barcelona had also considered Lautaro Martínez’s profile before backing off when Inter Milan declared their captain unavailable.

Raphinha has provided an internal solution following Robert Lewandowski’s departure to MLS. The Brazilian has scored 14 goals in eight matches since being repositioned as a striker, including 12 in seven La Liga games. His second hat-trick in three days, scored against Sevilla, has placed him at the top of the scoring chart ahead of Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé.

Deco acknowledged that Barça did not expect such a performance from him in this position. Gabriel Jesus, signed as a rotation option, now complements an attack where Raphinha plays the central role.