Raphinha shares a dressing room with some of the best players in the world at Barcelona but admits he wishes one Manchester United star was also part of the squad at the Nou Camp.
Brazilian winger Raphinha linked up with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba when he completed a £55m move to Barcelona last summer.
But the former Leeds United star admits he would love to be able to call his fellow Brazil international Casemiro a team-mate at club level too.
Casemiro spent almost a decade at Barcelona’s La Liga rivals Real Madrid before joining Manchester United for £70m last summer.
The five-time Champions League winner has quickly established himself as one of United’s most important players and will be hoping to help the Red Devils get past Barcelona in the Europa League.
The first-leg of the Europa League play-off takes place at the Nou Camp on Thursday evening, with Barcelona visiting Old Trafford for the second leg on February 23.
‘Man, Casemiro is a player that I always talk about to my friends and family,’ Raphinha told ESPN Brazil. ‘He’s a player that I’d particularly like to have on my team.
‘In addition to the experience he has in football and all the things he has achieved in football, he’s a great leader, he’s a great person, and he manages to complete a team with the quality he has.
‘For me, he’s one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.’
Both Manchester United and Barcelona go into the Europa League clash in impressive form.
United have climbed to third in the Premier League and reached the League Cup final under Erik ten Hag, while Xavi’s Barcelona have stormed eight points clear at the top of La Liga.
Ahead of the Nou Camp fixture, Xavi has praised Ten Hag for transforming Manchester United and turning Marcus Rashford into ‘one of the most dangerous players in Europe’.
‘Ten Hag is a great coach,’ Xavi said. ‘In my mind I believe that somehow [reversing] the situation of United was no easy task and he’s accomplishing it.
‘They are excited again, the club, the fanbase and also the way they play does a lot. He changes things offensively, defensively, everyone’s working very well, so it’s a tough rival for us and he’s a very interesting coach.’
On Rashford – who has scored 21 goals so far this season – Xavi added: ‘In the transition he is very, very dangerous so we need to take care of all of them but especially Rashford.
‘He’s one of the most dangerous players now in Europe.’
MORE : Sergio Aguero makes Barcelona v Man Utd prediction for Europa League clash
MORE : Barcelona v Manchester United is biggest European tie in the next few weeks
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