It appears as though there has been a case of "lost in translation" when it comes to the words of new FC Barcelona signing Raphinha. The Brazilian's statements from his recent press conference have apparently been misrepresented in the press, and the player has been quick to clarify that he never made a declaration claiming that "Barcelona are better than Real Madrid."

The Brazilian made his debut for the Blaugrana when the club opened their pre-season tour of the United States with a friendly against Inter Miami on Tuesday. It was a dream debut for Raphinha, who scored one of Barcelona's six goals from the match.

He spoke to the press afterwards in Portuguese, and numerous translations from different publications have claimed that he said "You always want to score against your opponents and if it's in a Clasico, even more so. The most important thing is the win. For me, we are better than Real Madrid."

Now, Marca reports that Raphinha only meant to say that he is "particularly motivated" to face the reigning La Liga and UEFA Champions League title holders.

"We always want to play a Clasico and score against Real Madrid. I'm really looking forward to playing these games because for me they are the best," he said.

In any case, the Brazilian will surely need to put his money where his mouth is on Saturday, when Barcelona and Real Madrid face each other at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The match is part of both clubs' pre-season tours, and it marks Raphinha's first encounter with the 14-time European champions.

He will be coming into the match brimming with confidence after the Catalans thrashed Inter Miami 6-0. However, Real Madrid will be an entirely different animal even though this is only a "friendly" encounter.

Manager Xavi Hernandez will want to test Barcelona's new-look squad against their biggest rivals, and both teams will want to see a preview of what to expect for the 2022-23 season.

Raphinha
Raphinha during his time with Leeds United Robin Jones/Getty Images
Real Madrid