Raphinha: the biggest injustice of 2025

BarcelonaFifth in the Ballon d'Or voting and left out of the two ideal XIs for the other major football awards: FIFA's The Best and FIFPro's Team of the Year, the global organization representing professional footballers, comprised of more than 70 state players' unions and acting on behalf of over 70,000 players. Raphinha feels that, from afar, his extraordinary season with Barcelona hasn't been properly rewarded, even though it has been recognized, for example, by La Liga, which awarded him the Globe Soccer Player of the Year award, a less prestigious distinction. Those in the Barcelona dressing room maintain that this "injustice" will only fuel his determination to continue producing the best version of Raphinha.

The Brazilian footballer is baffled as to why his name didn't appear on the Ballon d'Or podium, which was dominated by Ousmane Dembélé (PSG), Lamine Yamal, and Vitinha (PSG), with him relegated to fifth place, surpassed by Mohamed Salah (Li). As many as 73 out of 100 journalists placed Dembélé first in their votes, as revealed France FootballLamine Yamal was chosen first eleven times, while Raphinha and Pedri received none. "It was a disappointment. When you give it your all, work hard every day, and feel you've had an incredible season, you expect to be among the best. Finishing fifth was an honor, but my expectations were higher," the Brazilian said. "I feel undervalued and believe I deserve much more. Individual awards aren't something I can control; they depend on other people's votes, not mine. I've had a fantastic season, and that's enough for me."

Pedri, eleventh in the Ballon d'Or rankings, does appear in both 2025 World XIs, while Raphinha is left out of both. In the FIFPro World XI, with a 3-4-3 formation, the forwards are Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), and Ousmane Dembélé. In the FIFA World XI, with a 4-4-2 formation, the two forwards are Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé. "The whole FIFA World XI thing seemed like a joke to me. It's not a big deal because I don't attach too much importance to what the best XI is, but when I saw that Raphinha wasn't there, I thought it was unbelievable. He was very important for us last season. He contributed 22 goals in the Champions League, the top competition. The influence he has on the team... it's very unfair to him. I can't believe he's not in the best XI in the world," said Hansi Flick.

"Is he a basketball player?"

After being left out of the FIFPro World XI, chosen by the players themselves, Raphinha had already shared several posts on his Instagram. stories (posts that expire after 24 hours) with various statistics and accolades, as well as the three trophies he won last season with Barça: La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, and the Copa del Rey. "Is he a basketball player?" Natalia Belloli posted on her profile in the same format. The footballer's wife didn't stop there and then reposted a statistic showing the 62 goals in which Raphinha had actively participated last season.

In his best season as a professional, the Barcelona winger scored 34 goals and provided 26 assists under Hansi Flick in a total of 57 matches. He played more minutes than any other player in the Barça squad. His performance in the Champions League was particularly noteworthy, where he became joint top scorer with Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund) with 13 goals. The key difference is that Raphinha also provided eight assists. These figures meant that the Brazilian surpassed Leo Messi's best records in Europe's premier club competition. In the 2011-12 season, the Argentine star scored 14 goals and provided five assists in 11 matches. His outstanding performances, backed by these statistics, have made him one of the most respected and influential players in the Barcelona dressing room, and one of the players in whom both Hansi Flick and his teammates place the most trust. Having renewed his contract until 2028, Raphinha is one of the team's key players and captains, with his sights set on winning the Champions League in 2026.