Al-Hilal Shifts Focus to Mohamed Salah, Easing Raphinha's Future Concerns

Barcelona have been waiting for the storm around Raphinha to break. It might just have veered off course.

For weeks, the Brazilian’s name has sat at the centre of Saudi Arabia’s latest power play, with Al-Hilal preparing another push to tempt him away from Catalonia with the kind of money that forces even the most committed players to pause. Now, the picture has shifted. And it favours Barça.

Al-Hilal’s new obsession: Mohamed Salah

According to SPORT, Al-Hilal have sharpened their focus on a different superstar: Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool forward has moved to the top of their wishlist, a development that instantly cools the heat around Raphinha’s future at Spotify Camp Nou.

Raphinha has been on Al-Hilal’s radar for months. He was never a passing fancy. The Saudi Pro League side viewed him as one of the marquee names to front their ongoing project and were expected to return for him aggressively after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Instead, their energy is now being poured into Salah. The report details an ambitious offer: a three-year contract, with an option for a fourth, and a net salary of €20 million per season. It is the same financial level believed to have been prepared for Raphinha, now being redirected towards Anfield’s talisman.

The message is clear. For the moment, Salah is the obsession. Raphinha is the alternative.

Raphinha’s focus: rehab, not relocation

There had been noise in recent weeks that Raphinha, while flattered by Al-Hilal’s interest, preferred to park any serious talks until after his World Cup duties with Brazil. That alone hinted at a player not entirely closing the door.

Right now, though, his world is smaller and more urgent: the treatment room, the training pitch, and a race against the clock.

The winger is immersed in an intensive rehabilitation schedule, working through three sessions a day as he battles to be fit in time for a potential World Cup quarter-final on July 5. Brazil must still navigate their upcoming knockout tie, but Raphinha wants to be ready if they get there. His attention, for now, is not on contracts in Riyadh but on minutes in a Brazil shirt.

Barcelona will not complain. Every day he spends locked into recovery and national-team ambitions is a day the noise around his future fades a little more.

A familiar threat, now dulled

This is not the first time Al-Hilal have tried to prise Raphinha away from Barcelona. Far from it.

In the summer of 2024, shortly after Hansi Flick arrived in the dugout, the Saudi club launched a staggering offensive. Reports at the time spoke of a three-year deal worth €100 million net. Raphinha later admitted that such an offer made him think hard about his future. How could it not?

Barcelona, financially stretched and constantly juggling their wage bill and transfer plans, knew they were vulnerable. A bid of that magnitude tests not only the player’s resolve but the club’s.

That context makes the current shift in Saudi strategy even more significant. With Al-Hilal channelling their resources and attention towards Salah, the immediate threat of losing one of Flick’s key wide men has eased.

The interest has not vanished. Raphinha remains on Al-Hilal’s shortlist and, as long as the Saudi Pro League continues to flex its financial muscle, no European club can ever feel entirely safe. But there is a difference between being the main target and being the backup plan.

Right now, Raphinha is no longer first in line. For Barcelona, juggling renewal talks, squad planning and the constant pressure to sell before they buy, that small shift in priority could prove decisive in keeping one of their most important attackers in Blaugrana a little longer.