Barcelona and Brazil midfielder Rafinha has left the door open on a future move to Brazilian giants Flamengo.
Rafinha, who is in Rio de Janeiro while he recovers from knee surgery, is a declared fan of Flamengo, Brazil's most popular club, and has openly expressed his affinity for them on social media.
.@adidasbrasil work day. #riodejaneiro #flamengo #gavea #videoshoots pic.twitter.com/m7JSk0YkuV
- Rafinha Alcantara (@Rafinha) December 23, 2015
Speaking to Globoesporte, the 22-year-old Brazil international confirmed that one day he would like to play for "O Mais Querido."
"Why not? I would like one day to be able to come and play at Flamengo. One day, who knows?," Rafinha, who signed a contract extension with Barca in November, said.
Rafinha's father is 1994 World Cup winner Mazinho, who spent five years in Rio with Flamengo's bitter rivals Vasco Da Gama. His older brother is ex-Barca and current Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara.
Despite his father's strong Vasco ties, Rafinha described how he became a Flamenguista.
"My father is a Vasco man, but I grew up with the son of Adalberto [a former Flamengo full-back], Rodrigo [who currently plays at Valencia]," Rafinha revealed. "We played together for a long time. And he played at Flamengo.
"Because of that, me and my brother entered the pitch [as mascots] with the team in a packed clasico. I remember entering with Julio Cesar and he with [Dejan] Petkovic."
Rafinha made his international debut with Brazil in a 4-1 friendly thrashing of the United States this summer.
He would like to be counted on for Brazil's Rio Olympics campaign next summer, but the midfielder realizes he will need to be playing semi-regularly at the Camp Nou for that "dream" to come true.
"They operated three months ago, in January I'll start to run and I'll see when I can come back to the team," Rafinha continued.
"I dream of being at the Olympics but I need more minutes with Barca to hope to be on the list for the Games."