Raphinha says Jesus Miguel’s death made Aston Villa match ‘very difficult’

Raphinha said the death of Tenerife player Jesus Miguel made it difficult for him to play in Barcelona’s Champions League match against Aston Villa.

The Barcelona forward scored twice in the fourth round of the competition but did not celebrate either goal against the Villans.

Speaking to the American broadcaster CBS, Raphinha said the news had affected him personally before kick-off.

“Honestly, it was very difficult for me,” the Brazil international said. “I spoke to my wife when I woke up today and, after seeing the news, of course I did not have good feelings. I felt a little bad.”

Raphinha said Jesus Miguel’s death had been particularly difficult to process because he was a fellow professional whose fate could have happened to any player.

“In the end, he was a professional colleague in this profession, and this can happen to anyone,” he added. “It could have happened to me or to any player who was on the pitch today.”

He also noted that Jesus Miguel was the same age as him, although he was unsure whether that was the main reason the tragedy had affected him so deeply.

“On top of that, he was a player of the same age as me, so I do not know whether that was the reason it affected me more,” Raphinha said. “But my day was not good, perhaps because of the news, and it affected me a lot personally.”

The two goals took Raphinha’s Champions League tally for the season to four. He is joint-top of the competition’s scoring chart alongside a large group of players.

Barcelona now have nine points and moved into second place in the table, behind Paris Saint-Germain.