Rivaldo Exclusive: Raphinha moving to a bigger Premier Club is a natural step

Rivaldo
23 June 2022
3:00 min read

Is Erik Ten Hag about to be reunited with his former Ajax player Antony?

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In this week's exclusive Rivaldo talks about a trio of big name transfers - either to or from the Premier League - and tells us why Vini Jr could be Real Madrid's biggest star...

"At the moment, Manchester United - who have his former manager Erik ten Hag - seems to be the closest club to signing him (1/4 in Betfair's 'Antony to sign for' market) and I'm confident we'll all enjoy watching him play at Old Trafford."

Arsenal are still chasing Raphinha's signature, and could go over 50m EURO to achieve it.

Nowadays, Raphinha is seen as a big player in English football and is a regular in the Brazilian national team, so, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him move to a bigger Premier League club, which would mean that his presence at the World Cup will become even more likely, especially as he has been a regular in Tite's squads lately.

Antony can do wonders at Manchester United and World Cup

Another player that is heavily under the Premier League's radar is Ajax's Antony, who enjoyed a fantastic 2021-22 season and I'm sure he attracted the attention of bigger clubs.

At the moment, Manchester United - who have his former manager Erik ten Hag - seems to be the closest club to signing him (1/4 in Betfair's 'Antony to sign for' market) and I'm confident we'll all enjoy watching him play at Old Trafford.

Just like Raphinha, he might benefit from playing at a bigger club to get closer to being a regular at the World Cup, though I also think his place in the squad is safe since Tite has been calling him up lately and has confidence in his qualities.

Vini Jr. is strong candidate to win 2023 Ballon D'Or

After a fantastic season with Real Madrid in which he became one of the Champions League final's star men by scoring the winner, I can only expect that Vini Jr. keeps improving.

The season just gone he improved massively in terms of finishing and if he continues evolving and learning he might become Real Madrid's biggest star since Karim Benzema will have to retire one day.

Right now, it's tough to pick a favourite above any other player to win next year's Ballon d'Or when the season hasn't even started, but I don't see him below the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne or others.

Furthermore, club titles will be crucial for the final decision, so, it's still very early.

Sadio Mane moves from a giant to another giant

It was surprising to see Sadio Mane deciding to leave Liverpool at the end of season, but, we don't know his reasons to take such step.

There might have been some internal issues, he might have felt under recognised by the club or even wanted a new challenge in his career, but the truth is that moving to Bayern Munich enables him to play in one of Europe's strong league and also keeps him battling for Champions League glory.

Friendlies should happen before or after seasons

Barcelona and Manchester City will play a charity match at Camp Nou at the end of August at a time that the season will already have begun and that makes no sense in terms of preparation and can harm both clubs start of season.

Of course, this is a match with good intentions and we need to respect that, but I just hope that this match won't impact Barça's start to the new season.