How I almost joined Italy national team — Raphinha

Brazilian sensational Raphinha has stated that he was on the verge of accepting a call-up to play for the Italian national team before ultimately representing Brazil.

Speaking to journalist Isabela Pagliari and posted on Monday, Raphinha admitted he was close to joining Italy’s Euro 2020-winning squad.

“I was close to accepting the Italian national team call!” he said. “I was supposed to go to the Euro they won in 2020. I was basically set to go. So luckily, since the passport didn’t come through.”

The Barcelona forward explained that he was being actively pursued by the Italian setup at the time.

“At that point, the people from the Italian national team were calling me. Jorginho used to call me all the time. The Italian staff had this amazing project for me, something that really caught my eye,” he added.

Despite the strong interest and the prospect of joining a major European tournament, Raphinha said he held onto a small hope of playing for his country of birth.

“But at the same time, deep down, I still had that one per cent of hope that I could wear the Brazil shirt. And luckily, my Italian passport didn’t get ready in time!” he said.

Raphinha has since gone on to feature for Brazil at the international level, fulfilling the dream he nearly missed out on.