Raphinha will board a plane to Singapore this month to play two friendlies for Brazil, a call-up that has triggered open anger among Barcelona supporters and Catalan media just days after the forward signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until June 30, 2030, abc.es reported. The Brazil national team’s latest call-up of LaLiga top scorer Raphinha for the November 2026 FIFA window has Barcelona’s fanbase concerned: the last three times he joined the Seleçao for an international break, he returned to Barcelona injured.
That record is the core of the frustration now gripping the club’s environment. Raphinha is Barcelona’s most in-form attacker, leading LaLiga’s scoring charts with 19 goals this season, and each of his three recent injury layoffs after Brazil duty has deprived manager Hansi Flick of his main offensive weapon at key moments, forcing the club into lengthy recovery plans after every international pause.
Three FIFA windows, three injuries: the pattern behind the outrage
The statistic driving the backlash is simple and, according to abc.es, relentless: in each of his last three call-ups with Brazil, Raphinha returned to Barcelona with an injury.
The timing amplifies the concern. Raphinha is playing the best football of his career, having been rebuilt into a complete forward, and his 19 goals have made him the leading scorer in LaLiga at the start of the season.
Raphinha’s new deal and his message to the culés
The Brazil call-up landed the same week Raphinha put pen to paper on a long-awaited contract extension that ties him to Barcelona through June 30, 2030. At the signing, aware of the noise his trip with Brazil was generating, the forward tried to calm supporters. He said Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti knows he has to manage his minutes, that a injury would be complicated for the national team too, and that they had spoken because he is still recovering from his last ailment. He told fans he is well but not at 100 percent, and asked them not to worry because he takes care of himself, abc.es reported.
Despite those assurances, the fear remains in Barcelona. Supporters are expected to keep their fingers crossed for the next two weeks while hoping Raphinha breaks the cycle and returns from Singapore unharmed to keep leading the attack.
Catalan media turns on the Brazil call-up
The debate has reached a fever pitch in the Catalan sports press, where journalists close to the club have called the situation unacceptable. On the RAC1 program “Tu Dirás,” presented by Aleix Parisé, journalist Joan Poquí — known for his controversial “conoplete” celebration against Xabi Arbeloa — launched a blistering attack on Raphinha, Brazil and FIFA, marca.com reported.
Poquí said it made no sense for Raphinha to fly to Singapore for friendlies given that he had been injured in each of the last three FIFA windows and was repeating the same trip. He said he would strip Raphinha of the captain’s armband immediately, accused Barcelona of appearing to save its players only for them to risk their health with their national teams, and called the international break intolerable — “an atrocity,” in his words.
What the Singapore trip means for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona
For Flick, the concern is practical. Each previous Brazil absence sidelined his leading attacker during important stretches, and the club has had to activate exhaustive recovery protocols after each break. With Raphinha now the focal point of Barcelona’s attack and the league’s leading marksman, another injury return would land at a moment the team can least afford it.
The matches in Singapore are friendlies, which is precisely what frustrates critics: the risk to a club talisman is being taken for fixtures with no competitive stakes for Brazil, thousands of kilometers from Barcelona.
The two-week wait in Singapore
Brazil are scheduled to play two friendlies in Singapore during the November 2026 FIFA international window, and Raphinha is expected to rejoin his club after the break. Whether he returns fit will determine whether the “FIFA virus” label attached to his international duty becomes a fourth entry or finally ends. Barcelona’s season, and Raphinha’s scoring race at the top of LaLiga, now hinge on those two weeks in Southeast Asia.
