Phil Hay has been giving an insight into what the situation was like at Leeds United between Raphinha and Marcelo Bielsa.
The Brazilian winger had a less than happy end to Bielsa’s tenure as Leeds United manager after getting hooked off at half-time against Everton, before being benched at home to their big rivals Manchester United a week later.
Will Marsch keep Leeds in the Premier League?
Yes!
No!
It was a strange sequence of events from Bielsa to substitute and then bench his star player and top scorer at a time when Leeds were desperate for points – something they didn’t pick up in either of those matches.
Hay has now revealed on The Phil Hay Show that Raphinha and Bielsa had words behind the scenes about this incident.
He said: “There was frustration there, definitely. Raphinha wasn’t delighted to be substituted like that at Everton. Him and Bielsa did speak the week after, but Bielsa stuck to his guns, really, and dropped him against Man United.”
TIF Thoughts on Raphinha…
While Raphinha will surely be extremely grateful for the fact that Bielsa brought him to Elland Road in 2020 and allowed him to flourish in the Premier League, the Argentine’s dismissal may have come at the perfect time for the winger.
Raphinha has just one goal in his last eight league games, which has coincided with the Whites picking up just two wins in that time, so Jesse Marsch’s big task as the new Leeds boss will be getting the Brazilian back on form.
In other news: ‘Something to watch’ – Phil Hay hints Marsch could make huge Leeds decision