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Mazinho: 'Rafinha will seek January exit'

Mazinho: 'Rafinha will seek January exit'
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Brazil midfielder Rafinha will seek a move away from Barcelona at the start of 2019, according to his father Mazinho.

Brazil midfielder Rafinha will seek a move away from Barcelona in the January transfer window, according to his father Mazinho.

Rafinha scored seven times in 28 appearances for Barcelona during the 2016-17 season but missed the tail end of the campaign with a serious knee injury and did not return to action until January 2018.

The 25-year-old joined Inter Milan on loan for the second half of the 2017-18 campaign, scoring twice in 17 Serie A appearances for the Italian giants before returning to Spain.

Rafinha has been involved in three of Barcelona's last five La Liga matches, but his long-term future at the club is unclear, having struggled to earn a regular starting role this season.

Mazinho has said that it is "really complicated" for his son at Barcelona, with the Brazilian keen to move to a club that will hand him a key role.

"It's crazy, he can't understand anything," Mazinho told Radio Galicia Sport. "Only the coach knows what he has or doesn't have. The truth is that we're trying to get Rafa into a situation where he plays regularly.

"We have to look for an exit because it's really complicated for him here [at Barcelona]. It's been basically two years hardly playing and he needs a club to give him 30 or 40 games a season.

"Here, when you have three games in a row, then you're cut - the coach has in his head his way of working, but for the player? [Rafinha] has done well in pre-season, he's had some spectacular games. He doesn't understand it.

"This is football, it's normal, of course, and we have to be happy because we're at a great club. But we need to leave to play more. If there are interested clubs, Barca are interested in a transfer and the player's happy, we will work together."

Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Everton were all linked with Rafinha during the summer transfer window, while Roma are the latest club to be credited with an interest.

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Rafinha celebrates scoring for Barcelona during their La Liga clash with Granada at the Camp Nou on October 29, 2016
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