He scored twice but didn't want to talk about it: the sad reason behind Raphinha's gesture
The Brazilian was voted man of the match in Barcelona's win over Aston Villa, but his mind was far from the scoreline. The death of Jesús de Miguel had hit him hard.
Raphinha had the kind of night any footballer dreams of: he scored twice, was voted man of the match by fans and helped Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 in the Champions League. Yet after the final whistle, he did not want to talk about his performance.
His thoughts were with Jesús de Miguel, the CD Tenerife striker who died on Tuesday, November 3, aged 30, after suffering cardiac arrest following a heavy collision with Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono.
A tragedy that weighed more than the goals
The accident happened on Monday at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López stadium during a Spanish second-division match that was suspended. De Miguel was taken to the Hospital Universitario de La Candelaria, where he died on Tuesday morning. Spain's National Police opened an investigation into the circumstances of his death.
At the Spotify Camp Nou, Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the 7th minute and Raphinha settled the game after the break with goals in the 52nd and 64th minutes. But when it was time to face the media, the Barcelona captain set the numbers aside.
"Today I wouldn't like to talk about football. I want to dedicate the win to the fans and send a lot of strength to Jesús's family. It's not a good day to talk about football."
Speaking to Movistar+, the Brazilian also noted that a tragedy like this could happen to any footballer: you can go out to play a game and the same thing can happen to you, he said. A reflection that pushed his two goals into the background.
Raphinha ended the night with a brace, the fans' award and three points for Barcelona, but he left an image far more important than any statistic: a footballer reminding everyone that, before being rivals, they are all colleagues.
Sources: Infobae · elDiario.es · Al Jazeera
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