Raul Sanllehi is just what Arsenal need... Barcelona players and directors trust him and he helped deliver four Champions League titles

  • Raul Sanllehi will leave Barcelona before the end of the year for a new challenge
  • He has worked for Barcelona for 15 years under three different presidents
  • Sanllehi has played a key role in transfers as director of football
  • Reports in Spain claim Sanllehi is on the verge of joining Arsenal 
  • Sportsmail understands there is no deal in place yet to bring him to Arsenal

When Neymar was leaving Barcelona last summer and relations between him and the club were at their worst, there was one man he was still willing to speak to – Raul Sanllehi.

For 15 years the director of football has served the club under three different presidents and he has never lost his ability to stay on side with the players, earn and keep their trust, and provide an important bridge between the dressing room and the board room.

That charisma and those communication skills have also made him instrumental in some of the biggest deals in the club's history. He was there when Neymar left but he was also instrumental when he arrived, building an excellent relationship with the player's father.

Director of football Raul Sanllehi (right) has been at Barcelona for 15 years

Director of football Raul Sanllehi (right) has been at Barcelona for 15 years

It was Sanllehi who made sure the Brazilian ended up at Barcelona in 2011 and not at Real Madrid and it was Sanllehi who kept him from Paris Saint-Germain's clutches in 2016 by jetting to Brazil to spend a week talking the family back from the brink and into a new contract.


He could not repeat the trick a year later but most see that as not having been down to him. It was the failings of others, the enduring brilliance of Messi and the persistence of the French club that finally saw Neymar leave.

Sanllehi's contacts in football are second to none and Barcelona will struggle to replace him. One top agent told Sportsmail: 'He's excellent at what he does; he's the best that Barcelona have.'

His longevity at the club speaks volumes – most presidents want to work with their own men and not the man who stood shoulder to shoulder with the last commander in chief, but even when Sandro Rosell replaced Joan Laporta, sworn enemies the pair of them, Rosell still knew better than to ditch Sanllehi.

His job at the club was never to pinpoint targets. Txiki Begiristain and Andoni Zubizarreta illed that role before Robert Fernandez took the mantle but Sanllehi was always handed the baton when the deal had to be pushed over the line. Arsenal's notorious inability to do just that will be boosted if Sanllehi arrives although it will be a challenge for his charms to do something about Arsene Wenger's tendency towards procrastination.

Arsene Wenger has a habit of stalling on transfers and Arsenal are seeking help 

Arsene Wenger has a habit of stalling on transfers and Arsenal are seeking help 

Sanllehi was key in the arrival of Neymar and his subsequent signing of a new contract

Sanllehi was key in the arrival of Neymar and his subsequent signing of a new contract

Sportsmail understands there is no deal in place to bring him to north London, for now him switching to the Emirates remains just a possible option when he finally cuts all ties with Barcelona in the next few weeks.

Wherever he ends up he will bring an extensive knowledge of La Liga and of South America, where he worked closely with Barcelona's man in Brazil, Andre Curry, this summer on bringing Brazil captain Paulinho to the Nou Camp.

And he knows the Premier League too. In 2014 he led negotiations with Liverpool's Ian Ayre to bring Luis Suarez to Barcelona from Anfield. He succeeded in closing the deal for £65million, £10m less than Liverpool had wanted. It was a busy summer in 2014 when Ivan Rakitic and Marc Andre ter Stegen also arrived and a new team was built for incoming coach Luis Enrique – it won the Treble for him in his first season, another success story.

The director of football was also key in bringing the price for Luis Suarez down

The director of football was also key in bringing the price for Luis Suarez down

If he has been so good then why are he and Barcelona parting company? Fifteen years is a long time for any one in any position to survive at a club. He has felt the need to seek a new challenge and that fits with president Josep Bartomeu feeling that he needed to shake things up after a turbulent summer that saw Barcelona given the runaround by first PSG and the Neymars and then later by Liverpool who had them believing right up until deadline day that they would sell them Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian playmaker could still end up at the Nou Camp in January or at the end of the season.

By which time Sanllehi may have his feet under the table somewhere new. Not that he spends too much time behind a desk – his reputation for being a man of action goes before him. He got things done effectively at Barcelona – the club won four European Cups in his time, and a least a small part of that success was down to him doing his job well.