With the opening of the Chinese Super League's winter transfer window drawing near, there have been numerous rumors about player transfers among various teams, including the traditional powerhouse of the Chinese Super League - Beijing Guoan.
Since the departure of Mamichevich and Desosa, Guoan's midfield has been lacking a versatile defensive midfielder. Last season's addition to Guoan, Guga, although playing as a defensive midfielder, is actually a No. 6 player who primarily serves as a link on the field and is not a true "beast" type player. Therefore, the focus of Guoan's recruitment during the winter transfer window is a good foreign defensive midfielder.
Recently, there were rumors that Carvalho, the current Portuguese international playing for La Liga team Real Betis, was expected to join Guoan. However, this 32-year-old Portuguese midfielder suffered a major Achilles tendon rupture last season and almost didn't play any games, making him an unlikely choice for Guoan.
According to the latest news, Guoan's top choice for a new defensive midfielder is former Brazilian international Rafinha. The 31-year-old Rafinha comes from the youth training system of La Liga giants Barcelona and joined the first team in 2011. This Brazilian midfielder possesses excellent dribbling and breakthrough abilities, performs well defensively, and has a high football IQ. From the 2011 to 2020 seasons, he was a key rotational player in Barcelona's midfield, representing the team in 56 rounds of La Liga matches, scoring 8 goals, with an overall commendable performance.
Afterwards, he was successively loaned to Celta de Vigo in La Liga and Inter Milan in Serie A. In the summer of 2020, Rafinha transferred from Barcelona to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, representing PSG in 28 rounds of Ligue 1 matches. In the 2022 season, after his contract with PSG expired, Rafinha went to West Asia to seek opportunities, joining Al-Arabi in the Qatari league.
In January this year, after his contract with Al-Arabi expired, Rafinha did not receive a renewal and became a free agent, currently without a new club. On the national team front, Rafinha was selected for the Brazilian national team in 2015 and scored his first goal for the national team in Brazil's match against Costa Rica.
It's also worth mentioning that Rafinha's father, Mazinho, is a famous Brazilian international who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994. His brother, Thiago Alcantara, is also an outstanding midfielder who has played for Barcelona and Bayern Munich, with both generations being very famous players.
Compared to Carvalho, Rafinha is younger and has played for two major European clubs, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, with abilities and experience far superior to the former. However, having not played professional football for nearly a year, it remains unknown how well Rafinha has maintained his form.
Additionally, like Carvalho, Rafinha has also suffered serious injuries in his career, including two anterior cruciate ligament tears. These injury experiences will undoubtedly affect his game form and stability to some extent.
Of course, if Rafinha's knee injury has fully recovered, he would still be a good choice for Guoan. After all, he is now a free agent, and the club would not have to pay a single cent for the transfer fee. Whether the new defensive midfielder for Guoan next season is Carvalho or Rafinha will depend on the decision of the new head coach, Setien. It is believed that the club will make a clear decision by January next year...