In March 2017, Rafael Alcantara, said Rafinha, was in the other camp, that of FC Barcelona, a club and a city that shaped his personality, his career.
He even played 70 minutes during the famous "remount", the historic 6-1 inflicted on PSG in the round of 16 second leg of the Champions League.
But today, the Brazilian left Catalonia for Paris, where he wants to win in the long term.
He confided in the Parisian during a river interview.
The 28-year-old left-hander also lifts the veil on his personality and his passions.
The discussion took place early last week, before Neymar's injury against Caen.
THE SEASON OF PSG, LEAGUE 1, LE BARÇA
You signed on October 5 in Paris, without having experienced the difficult start in the league from the inside.
What do you attribute it to?
RAFINHA.
These are not excuses.
But I think the explanation is simple.
The coronavirus affects football in all its aspects.
Not just at PSG, this is the case in all clubs.
It is difficult to manage events with absences, losses of important players in an unforeseen way.
Today, to see the coach have 23 or 24 players at the same time is something wonderful.
He has to make choices, of course.
But managing a workforce with so many absences is even harder.
Honestly, did you think Ligue 1 would be easier for PSG?
(Repeats the question) Well, I knew the championship was very physically demanding.
As I said before, these are not excuses, but the club had a difficult period at the start of the season with injuries, the coronavirus ... But the moment we are living today is the right time to raise our heads and show our qualities.
(He stops and resumes) Nothing is easy, nothing.
Ask Bayern Munich and my brother (Thiago Alcantara) if it's easy to win the German league.
We can think so but it is not.
Any team can beat you.
Can the difficulties encountered during the group stage of the Champions League help the workforce to take another step forward this season?
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The Champions League campaign has been very important to us.
Because it united us even more as a group, as teammates.
When more or less nobody believed in us, imagined us qualifying, we had a great discussion between players.
It brought us together even more and we could see it.
Both on the victory against Leipzig and on the success in Manchester.
It was a step forward as a team, including when I think of the events against Basaksehir.
The meeting in Barcelona will be special.
What has Barça brought you in your life, your career?
All.
They gave me everything.
I learned almost everything at the Barça training center.
I have a lot of affection for this period.
I grew up in Barcelona, I lived there for 13 years, I also feel Catalan.
I learned as a footballer with Barça but also as a person in this city.
For me, Barça will always be special.
Arrived on the last day of the transfer window in Paris, Rafinha was surprised by the good atmosphere in the PSG locker room.
/ LP / Arnaud Journois
PSG had its worst nightmare at Camp Nou during the "remount".
Do you understand that a club can suffer so long from such a result?
Yes it's normal.
What club wouldn't have suffered after that?
But the luck is that today we have the opportunity to make up for the “monte”, to achieve a great match and to remove this thorn in the foot, which hinders here in Paris.
How can you help the Parisian players who were your opponents at the time, like Kurzawa, Marquinhos or Verratti?
Help them, no.
They don't need help to know they have a huge opportunity, to find motivation for such a game.
I can tell you that all the players of this club want to enter the field and win this meeting.
The key will be this motivation that everyone will find to be able to beat Barca.
THE LOCKER ROOM, THE ATMOSPHERE, ICARDI
For more than a year, all PSG players have said that the atmosphere there is extraordinary.
Do you confirm this?
It's incredible.
If you ask me how I was surprised when I arrived, I will say that this is the atmosphere in the locker room.
And I think it shows on the ground.
Is it mandatory to win?
Mandatory, no.
But very important, yes.
This is the case in all team sports, I think.
It is a basic aspect to help every footballer to reach his best personal level and for the group.
The competition is very strong, especially on the offensive positions.
Does this weigh on the mood?
Not in a negative way.
I believe that this spirit of competitiveness allows everyone to bring out the best.
To play, it's very complicated.
Not everyone can be a holder.
It's hard to deal with that.
But that's the job of the coach ...
Yes.
But also players.
Those who play and those who don't need to stay totally motivated and focused on what they want.
Otherwise, you put your foot down.
Rafinha forged strong ties with Neymar, in the background, at the time of Barça and the Brazilian selection. / LP / Arnaud Journois
Mauro Icardi, Neymar… Did their presence play a role in your arrival?
Yes.
It's logic.
They are teammates that I have known for a long time.
As they ask you to join them, it makes you want even more.
But in my case, the project presented by the club seemed to me very attractive, ambitious.
I join a very large club.
I signed up for three years.
I know the first year is always more difficult.
But I adapted very quickly, thanks to the teammates too.
The staffs also to allow me to feel good, strong, important.
With Mauro Icardi, you've known each other since adolescence… It's rare to see teammates meet again after all these years.
It doesn't happen often, yes.
But if you look at this locker room, there are players that I have known for many years (
Editor's note: Icardi, Neymar, Marquinhos, Navas, Sarabia…
) for having played with or against them.
The atmosphere is good but there is a real spirit of camaraderie, of brotherhood.
They are friends, not just teammates.
The French players I discovered are great guys too.
It makes it all great.
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You speak of the French.
Who do you feel close to?
In the locker room, I'm sitting next to Layvin (Kurzawa), Kim (Presnel Kimpembe)… I talk to them a lot.
Kylian (Mbappé), too.
They are real good people.
And as a footballer, have you been surprised by a particular player?
I knew it before and everyone knows he is very strong, different from others.
But, sincerely, Marco Verratti… (
he stops, rolls his eyes
).
It evolves to a level above.
He's an incredible player.
Have you found a changed Neymar compared to your joint stint at Barça?
We haven't been in the same locker room for four or five years.
But I see a person who has evolved.
He is a player and a more mature man.
He is 29 years old now, time flies.
I really see him as more mature.
ITS GAME, ITS SEASON, ITS OBJECTIVES
We don't know you well in France yet.
What is your preferential position in the field?
The one where I feel most comfortable is in the middle of the field.
It is true that I have been used to playing in different positions, as a striker, as a right winger, in a two-player environment… I go where the coach asks me.
But above all I like to evolve in the axis.
For example, with Mauricio, the midfielders move either flat or in a more advanced position.
This is where I feel the best.
Are you aware that you are a player who appeals to the public, by your style, a bit like Verratti?
I realized it a little with social networks (
smile
).
I received a lot of affectionate messages.
With the absence of the public in the stadium, it is not possible for me to see it directly.
But I thank the fans for their affection on the networks.
I have been warned that the supporters here are passionate.
We're really not used to playing in empty stadiums.
"I want to start in all the competitions we play", asserts Rafinha loud and clear./LP/Frédéric Dugit
How do you feel physically after you have been infected with the coronavirus?
The first week after the illness was a bit difficult physically.
I had to pick up the pace, readjust myself.
Now, I feel 100%, I have completely recovered (
Editor's note: interview carried out before the appearance of muscle overload
).
Do you feel that you have fallen behind because of this with the new coach?
Of course I started later.
But it's a question of adaptation, of time so that I can prove to him that I can play.
Is your goal to be among the 13 or 14 most important players?
No.
For me, the goal is to be a holder.
It's my mentality, my state of mind.
I want to play whatever is possible to play, improve myself, become a better player, learn from my teammates and, most importantly, win titles.
I want to start in all the competitions we play.
This is really the goal.
Are you looking towards the Brazilian selection?
It's a dream to be able to return there (
Editor's note: it has 2 selections
) one day.
There is no secret in life.
I have to do a good job here to get the opportunity to be called back.
But it's a goal that has never stopped for me.
Your two-year-old brother Thiago plays for Spain.
It's a little curiosity to see you evolve with Brazil ...
I have always felt Brazilian.
My brother evolved very early on with the youth teams in Spain.
I also had this experience but at 18 I made the decision to play for the team with which I identified the most.
So I stopped with Spain to have the opportunity to wear the Brazilian jersey.
HIS LIFE IN PARIS, HIS PASSIONS, HIS FOUNDATION
How do you feel in Paris?
Is it a difficult adaptation with the health context?
I consider myself to be a very quiet person.
I don't need a lot of things to be able to adapt.
I spend time at home, I work physically with the exercises programmed by my physiotherapist… I am very homey.
I really like reading, museums, art, but unfortunately I have not yet been able to discover Paris in this aspect.
You haven't been able to visit the museums yet, then?
Right when I arrived in Paris, everything was closed.
I strolled in the gardens of the capital, the parks, the tourist spots.
But museums, no.
And neither can the restaurants (laughs).
Art lover, Rafinha impatiently awaits the reopening of Parisian museums.
/ Instagram / @ rafalcantara
What is your favorite place at the moment?
Last week, I found myself in the gardens next to the Palais Royal (he pronounces it in French), the Tuileries.
I also really like the one on the other side, whose name I can't remember… (
Editor's note: the Luxembourg garden!
) It is really beautiful.
I take advantage of sunny days to go for a walk.
Beyond the gardens, I really liked the Marais district.
But with the curfew, not much can be discovered yet.
It sounds like you like to play the guitar.
Have you already brought it to the locker room?
(laughs) No, no, not yet.
I'm confident in the way I play, but I'm not psychologically ready to play in front of my teammates… It's a real passion.
Everyone needs moments to disconnect and in my case it's the guitar.
You take care with your brother Thiago and your father Mazinho of the Alcantara Foundation.
What are the origins of this foundation?
A year and a half ago, we started this adventure.
My parents have always educated us in this way: to respect others, to try to help those who need it.
We are privileged.
We had the possibility of creating a foundation to help the social integration of the most disadvantaged, both the poorest population of Barcelona and foreigners.
It is a project that is close to my heart, which seems important to me.
What are the concrete projects?
For example, we are helping around 40 young people.
We place them at the heart of a special program to provide them with shelter and training so that they can evolve and integrate into society.
The moment is particularly difficult with the health crisis all over the world.
This foundation is our way of being able to help with a program combining social and sport.
We touch different age categories.
PSG also has its Foundation.
Would you like to combine your strengths?
We have already discussed all of this at a meeting.
It made me very happy because I discovered that the projects of the PSG Foundation were very similar to ours.
I was like, “Oh but that looks like what we do, it's gonna be easy” (laughs).
We will be able to work and explore avenues together.
I cannot reveal the projects yet, but it will be the case shortly.
Is it an obligation for you to see footballers take on this role?
For me, there is nothing more normal.
I said it is thanks to my education.
But we are so privileged… I am not saying that it is an obligation.
But for me, at a minimum, we have to help the people who need it most.
And me, it makes me happier doing it.