The latest Ballon d’Or ceremony is still reverberating among fans, but especially among one player: Raphinha.
After a memorable 2024/25 season at Paris Saint-Germain, the award went to Ousmane Dembélé, the first of his career. However, for the Barcelona star, this distinction should have gone to him.
Raphinha claims he deserved to win the Ballon d’Or
On Monday, September 22, 2025, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris saw Dembélé receive his first Ballon d’Or for being a key player in PSG’s first UEFA Champions League title, as well as the domestic double (Ligue 1 and Coupe de France).
The 28-year-old Frenchman finished his 2024/25 season with 37 goals and 15 assists and was chosen over Lamine Yamal and his PSG teammate Vitinha. However, Raphinha believes he deserved to win.
The Brazilian forward finished fifth in the Ballon d’Or rankings, behind Mohamed Salah, but his season was far from bad. He was a key factor in Barcelona’s offense, along with Lamine, and scored 34 goals and 22 assists in 57 games played, so he recently made clear his dissatisfaction with this decision in an interview with Sofascore, presented by Isabela Pagliari:
“I would place myself in first place… It is my understanding that an individual award cannot be based on a single competition. Based on that, I think I deserved to be first for what I delivered during the season, for the titles I won, for the numbers I achieved, and for everything I contributed on the pitch. I think I deserved to win,” he said bluntly.
However, despite his stance, he knows that his teammates did not perform poorly and praised them, saying that “Dembélé and Lamine Yamal also had spectacular seasons.”
Since the 29-year-old arrived at Barcelona in July 2022, he has won several titles with the team. In the 2024/25 season, Raphinha scored 34 goals and provided 22 assists in 57 games, winning the domestic treble with Barça: LaLiga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa. He also led the team to the Champions League semi-finals, where he stood out as the competition’s top scorer (13) and assist provider (7). For this reason, the final result surprised not only Raphinha, but also several fans.
Meanwhile, one of the reasons for Raphinha’s success this year and last is his coach Hansi Flick, whom he praised by saying: “He was the one who practically gave me the best season of my career. He gave me confidence when I think no one else did, not even myself.”
Meanwhile, Barcelona are coming off a magical Champions League night. Hansi Flick’s team made it into the top 8 thanks to a strong second half in which they came back from 0-1 down to Copenhagen at halftime. With a goal from Raphinha on a penalty kick, one from Yamal, Lewandowski, and Rashford, the Azulgrana team won 4-1 and celebrated at Spotify Camp Nou.
Barcelona’s upcoming matches:
- Saturday, January 31 – Elche CF vs. Barcelona – LaLiga
- Tuesday, February 3 – Albacete vs. Barcelona – Copa Del Rey
- Saturday, February 7 – Barcelona vs. RCD Mallorca – LaLiga
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