Months after the Ballon D’Or election, Barca star Raphinha still seems to be preoccupied with its outcome. He is struggling with his fifth place.
On September 22nd last year it was clear: Ousmane Dembele (28) won the 2025 men’s Ballon d’Or. The offensive player from Paris Saint-Germain prevailed against, among others, Lamine Yamal (18) and his club mate Vitinha (25), thus crowning his outstanding season in which he also won the Champions League with the Parisians.
Barcelona’s Raphinha (29) was also able to look back on an exceptional season and had hopes of winning the award from the French football magazine France Football make. In 57 games played, the Brazilian collected 60 scorer points across all competitions, led the Catalans to the national titles in La Liga, Copa del Rey and Supercopa and even set a record in the premier class with 21 goals. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old only ended up in 5th place – a disappointing result.
Raphinha struggles with Ballon D’Or: “…then I should have won the award”
Even back then, Raphinha’s placement was hotly debated and criticized. Compatriot Neymar, for example, commented clearly at the time: “Raphinha in fifth place is an outrage.” The jury’s assessment was “an absolute joke”. And Raphinha himself also seems to still be preoccupied with the outcome of the Ballon D’Or more than four months after the decision.
In an interview with the sports portal Sofascore said the Brazilian international soberingly. “I was disappointed, I expected more. I expected to be at least in the top three,” said the Barca star. Above all, the 29-year-old criticizes the high weighting of the Champions League. Dembele’s triumph with his team in the premier class significantly increased their chances of winning the Ballon D’Or.
“In my opinion, an individual award cannot be based on a single competition,” says Raphinha, adding: “If it was really about the season as a whole, then I should have won the award.” (Quote via Goal.com)
Nevertheless, the offensive player also paid respect to his competitors and expressed his appreciation to Dembele and Yamal, among others. And anyway: “No individual award will erase what I achieved last season,” stated Raphinha confidently.
