"When I was 18, I had been rejected by the academies more times than I could bother to count. Internacional, Grêmio, everywhere it was the same: a one-week trial and then an excuse," Raphinha tells Players' Tribune.
“He’s too small.” “He’s too frail.” “He’s got no power.” Always the same, man. Always the same.
"Just before I turned 19, I was training with the U-20 team at Avaí. They were based in Florianópolis, a six-hour drive north of Porto Alegre.
"I had never spent so much time away from home trying to get a contract. But then I got injured, and when I was fit again, I couldn’t get into the team. I didn’t even make the matchday squad. They told me to train on my own.
"Usually I would have gone back to the várzea community, because that was my home. I played well there. Nobody there told me that I was too small. In fact, I would often hear that, hey, if I really, really wanted it, I’d make it as a pro.
"But at Avaí I cracked. I called my parents and said that I’d had enough. I wanted to go home. I was done.
"My dad said he was fine with it. My mum, too. “But,” my mum added … “If you give up on your dream, you’ll have to get a normal job.” I was like, Hmmmmmm….
"The thing was, I had wanted to be a footballer since I was seven, so I never finished school. Which meant that I would have to find a job in a supermarket or a barber shop or something.
"I knew what that life was about, because my mum had changed jobs so many times. Her CV must have been the length of a book. Hairdresser, manicurist, seller of perfumes and clothes, receptionist, waiter, etc., etc., etc. Finally, she saved enough money to get a degree, and now she was doing what she loved, which was to work with children who had learning difficulties.
"She never gave up, you know?
"So she explained it all to me. She said that I would end up playing somewhere, and that every tough moment passes. She suggested that maybe, due to all these setbacks, I had forgotten what I really wanted in life, which was true.
"By the time we hung up, I remembered," Raphinha said.
Raphinha's story is quite an emotional and inspiring one for any aspiring football. At the age of 19, he wasn't certain of becoming a pro but by 21 he was already in Europe playing Sporting CP.
The Brazilan would later move to Stade Rennais in France before being taken to Leeds in the Premier League by Deco. In the summer of 2022, Raphinha's biggest dream came true as Barcelona paid €58m to sign him.
The 26-year-old repaid the faith by finishing the season with 10 goals and 11 assists. The only Barca forward to register double figures in both goals and assists as the Blaugrana won the league.
