Barcelona to formalise Raphinha extension after Aston Villa double

Raphinha will sign his new Barcelona contract on Thursday after the club confirmed that a ceremony will be held to complete the agreement, which will keep the Brazil winger at the club until 2030.

Barcelona announced the event in an official statement on Wednesday, adding that club president Joan Laporta will attend. The formal signing comes as Raphinha continues to produce some of the most influential performances of his Barcelona career.

The 29-year-old scored twice in Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League victory over Aston Villa, extending his scoring run to three consecutive matches. He has now scored two goals in each of his past two games, underlining his importance to the team’s attacking play.

One of his goals against Aston Villa followed an accurate pass from Fermin Lopez, while the other came after an impressive individual move involving Joao Cancelo. The brace took Raphinha’s Champions League total for Barcelona to 23 goals.

That figure puts him level with Robert Lewandowski and into joint third place among Barcelona’s leading scorers in the competition. Luis Suarez is second on 25 goals, while Lionel Messi leads the club’s list with 120 goals in 149 appearances.

Raphinha has also matched Ronaldinho’s total of 94 goals for Barcelona in all competitions.

His contract extension had already been announced in principle by the club’s sporting director Deco during the members’ general assembly in September. Thursday’s ceremony will therefore formally complete an agreement that had been reached several weeks earlier.

The new deal comes during an outstanding individual campaign for Raphinha. He has scored 19 goals in 13 official matches this season, numbers which underline the extent of his contribution to Barcelona.

That form represents a significant return to his best level after physical problems disrupted his previous campaign. His recent goalscoring run, combined with the latest Champions League milestones, has placed him at the centre of Barcelona’s attacking plans as the club prepares to retain his services through 2030.