Barcelona captain Raphinha fulfils son Gael’s wish with Spider-Man celebration

Barcelona captain Raphinha opened his goalscoring account for the new season against Elche with a penalty, but the Brazil international’s Spider-Man celebration was not linked to Julian Alvarez or a possible transfer. Instead, the gesture was carried out at the request of his son, Gael.

Raphinha scored Barcelona’s first goal of the campaign in his first appearance as a recognised centre-forward under manager Hansi Flick. The forward’s successful penalty gave him an early personal milestone and ensured the new season began with a goal bearing the captain’s signature.

The penalty was awarded in the 13th minute after Raphinha received a threaded pass from Espart. He then produced an accomplished piece of skill to evade Victor Chust, who brought down the Brazilian inside the penalty area.

Raphinha took responsibility for the resulting spot-kick and converted it confidently, underlining his reputation as a reliable penalty-taker.

The Barcelona captain has an outstanding record from 12 yards. He has scored every penalty he has taken during his career, excluding shootouts. When penalties taken in shootouts are included in the calculation, his overall success rate stands at about 94%.

However, it was Raphinha’s celebration rather than the goal itself that attracted much of the subsequent attention. After celebrating with his Barcelona team-mates, he moved towards one of the cameras and performed a Spider-Man gesture.

The image quickly prompted questions among Barcelona supporters because the superhero character has recently become strongly associated with Julian Alvarez. The Argentina international, who plays as a striker for Atletico Madrid, is a player Barcelona are attempting to sign.

That connection led to speculation that Raphinha’s celebration might have been intended as a political message or a hint about the club’s interest in Alvarez. Those close to the Barcelona forward, however, have explained that the gesture had a much more personal origin.

Raphinha was responding to a request from his son, Gael, who had asked his father to celebrate like Spider-Man. The player chose to grant that wish after scoring his first goal of the season.

The celebration therefore had no connection to Barcelona’s pursuit of Alvarez. It was a family-inspired moment following Raphinha’s successful start to the campaign, with the Brazilian combining an important goal, another accomplished penalty and a memorable gesture in his first match playing through the middle for Flick.