Stade Rennais is generally a club that knows how to sell very well. We think in particular of players like Jérémy Doku, Désiré Doué, Nayef Aguerd, Ousmane Dembélé, Eduardo Camavinga, Ismaïla Sarr and Lesley Ugochukwu, who brought in more than 270 million euros to the SRFC, for an initial investment of less than 50 million euros.
Few Ligue 1 clubs can boast of doing better. But there were also a few failures in Rennes. The biggest in our opinion is Raphinha.
Arriving at Stade Rennais in 2019 for 21 million euros from Sporting CP, the Brazilian winger only stayed one season in Rennes. Sold in 2020 to Leeds United for only 17 million euros, Raphinha nevertheless had an interesting season with 9 goals and 5 assists. Of course on the SRFC side we expected more from the native of Porto Alegre, but it is good to remember that the Brazilians often need one season to start the second.
A departure which caused a lot of talk at the time, especially since Raphinha initially wanted to stay. “I was focused on playing in the Champions League with Rennes. But, knowing that without warning me, they had accepted an offer from Leeds for less than the purchase price, I felt devalued “, he confided.
Still, the management of the Raphinha file is enough to leave Rennes with regrets. Currently considered one of the best in the world in his position, the 27-year-old Brazilian winger, who is at the peak of his talent, has established himself as an indisputable starter at FC Barcelona, and could make the subject to a transfer of more than 100 million euros in the coming months. Announced in the sights of Saudi clubs, Raphinha is of particular interest to Arsenal, PSG and Manchester United.
