Barcelona sports director Deco, who is on vacation in Brazil, was interviewed by local media and talked about the experiences of two Brazilian players, Rafinia and Rock, in Barcelona.
About Rock
We failed to help him when Rock was at Barcelona. He came to Barcelona in January 2024. For me, this was a mistake. The original idea was that he only came in the summer of 2024, and I think he was affected by it. In addition, if you care too much about what you write in the media, there may be problems. Rock did not live well in the first six months at Barcelona. I think the coaching staff and the club also lacked comprehensive attention to him, and did not find any problems with him in adaptation or even psychological aspects.
This is the case for football. It is always challenging for Brazilian players to go to Europe too early, especially joining clubs like Barcelona or Real Madrid. Taking Enderick as an example, he doesn't have many opportunities at Real Madrid in the 24-25 season. Moreover, Rock's transfer was not as expensive as the outside world said, and Barcelona later recovered most of its investment (25 million out of 30 million euros).
About Rafinia
(Note: Deco was Rafinia's agent in 2022. He did not serve as the director of the Barcelona club at that time)
Rafinia had just spent a very outstanding season in England at that time, and many clubs wanted to sign him, including Arsenal and Chelsea... Barcelona was facing financial difficulties at that time. I know that Rafinia's dream is to join Barcelona, Xavi wants him, and Laporta wants him too... I know that's complicated because Barcelona may not be able to pay the transfer fee required by Leeds United. Our job is to help the players realize their wishes and eventually succeed.
Every coach can have a positive impact on a player's career, especially in terms of confidence and recognition. If a player performs well, why replace him? I think the coach sometimes makes mistakes at this point, (this is the case with Harvey’s treatment of Rafinia), which will hit the player’s confidence. Rafinia felt more trust from Frick, which helped him and eventually showed on the court. Rafinia's performance in the 24-25 season is not surprising because we already know his strength.