Raphinha walked across entire Camp Nou pitch on his knees after defeat to Real Sociedad

Raphinha walked the length of the Camp Nou pitch on his knees after Barcelona lifted their first La Liga title in four years – and for good reason.

The Catalan giants, who have lost just four La Liga games throughout the 2022/23 campaign, secured the Spanish title last week with an emphatic 4-2 win over local rivals Espanyol.

A few days later and Xavi’s men celebrated their success in front of the Camp Nou faithful, although the post-match scenes were somewhat dampened after top-four hopefuls Sociedad came out 2-1 winners.

Still, veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets lifted a historic La Liga trophy in front of over 89,000 fans – a hugely poignant moment considering the long-serving captain is set to leave at the end of the season.

Then, when the Camp Nou was relatively empty, Brazilian winger Raphinha decided to knee-walk across the famous turf – a scene that soon went viral online.

So why does he do it? Raphinha has not publicly disclosed the reason – even after he did so when Leeds’ survived Premier League relegation on the final day of last season.

But it is widely regarded that in South America, a person vows to walk on their knees to repay God for granting them a wish.

Journalist Nacho Jiménez posted the scenes on his social media account on Saturday night, and it soon picked up over 400,000 views, with many commenting on the ritual.