It took some final day drama for Leeds United to remain in the Premier League as their win and Burnley’s loss on Matchday 38 ensured that the Peacocks finished 17th on the table.
Despite the sacking of Marcelo Bielsa, under Jesse Marsch, the team managed to secure safety mainly thanks to some individual brilliance from key players. Undoubtedly, the main catalyst in Leeds’ success was their Brazilian winger Raphinha, whose 11 goals (top scorer) and 3 assists were vital to ensure safety.
In the absence of Patrick Bamford who was the club’s main man in the attack last season, the Brazilian stepped up and delivered the end product Leeds were missing on the pitch. The player even celebrated with Leeds fans from the stands following their final day victory over Brentford, a match in which he scored as well.
While fans of the club would have been ecstatic with Raphinha’s performance this season, they have been hit hard with the prospect of losing the player with strong interest from Barcelona being reported.
Leeds fans don’t want him to go and showed their feelings in a bizarre fashion.
As Leeds full-back Junior Firpo was getting married on Saturday, the Instagram live stream of the event from the player’s account was flooded not with messages of congratulations from Leeds supporters, but rather with texts begging Raphinha to stay.
Alongside these genuine shows of love for the Brazilian, fans also mocked Raphinha’s potential suitor Barcelona’s financial situation and even joked that the Spanish club would not be able to afford the player.
The entire ceremony which was held at a church with friends and family of both Firpo and his partner went on to be streamed with Leeds fans hijacking the comments section.
While Firpo might not have been best pleased with Leeds fans’ antics, if it does aid in convincing his compatriot to remain at the club then perhaps, he would be willing to let this one slide.