Raphinha breaks silence on Brazil threat before Argentina stars mocked him

Raphinha stoked the fires of the fierce rivalry between Argentina and Brazil during the latest international break and has now spoken out after some less than savoury scenes

Barcelona star Raphinha has shown no remorse for his “f*** them” jibe towards Argentina that saw a bitter war of words explode. The Brazilian winger spoke ahead of the two South American nations’ meeting in the latest international break and made some less than savoury comments.

Speaking with Brazil icon Raphinha, he said: “We are going to beat them up on and off the pitch if necessary. I am going to score. They can s*** themselves!

“In Argentina, you have to hit them, it hurts! They’re b*******.” Romario then added to the war of words, as he asked Raphinha: “F*** them?”, to which the Barcelona man emphatically replied: “F*** them.”

And despite being made to look a bit silly – Brazil having lost 4-1 to Argentina last month – Raphinha insists he does not regret his comments. Speaking with TNT Sports Brazil after Barcelona ’s Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund, the ex-Leeds star said: “Statement about Argentina? Maybe the word I used wasn’t the most appropriate, but when I wear the national team shirt, is that I am here to defend it, to defend my country.

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“What matters to me is that I will defend my fans, whether in the national team or here at Barcelona. If I have to fight, no matter who the other side is, for the good of the team, I will fight.

“I will not take back a word I said. Maybe the way I spoke was a bit sharp but as I said, I will always fight for the national team jersey as long as I am there.”

Raphinha’s words did not go down particularly well with a clutch of Argentina stars. Ex-Manchester City star Julian Alvarez had a brutal reply after finding the net in the game against Brazil.

He said: “Obviously that manner of speaking adds some spice to a match like this.Thanks to our humility and work we played a great match. We danced around them.”

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Midfielder Leandro Paredes also had his say on Raphinha’s comments. Speaking after the game, he said: “You shouldn’t talk about it beforehand, you shouldn’t say these kinds of things when you can’t back it up on the pitch.

“When he said that, we sent it to the WhatsApp group and we discussed it. Whenever this kind of thing happens, we stand up for ourselves on the pitch.”

And while the dressing room appeared to have a furious reaction to Raphinha’s outburst, Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni was slightly more diplomatic. The World Cup winning coach suggested he ‘excused’ the winger and was sure he did not mean any offence with his comments.

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