SPORTSWORLD.AM
Barcelona and Brazil winger Rafinha has admitted that he could have played for the Italian national team.
"I was supposed to go to the European Championship, which they [the Italians] won. I was basically ready, but the passport hadn't arrived yet."
The people from the Italian national team invited me to join them. Jorginho did this all the time. Their national team coaching staff was running a project that was interesting to me, and it caught my attention.
But deep down I had a 100% hope that I would still play for the Brazilian national team. Fortunately, my Italian passport was not ready in time,” the Brazilian was quoted as saying by inside source Fabrizio Romano on the X social network (formerly Twitter).
Rafinha has been playing for the Brazil national team since 2021.