Raphinha and his path to glory: Is the Ballon d'Or his destiny?

Generally, it is said that one can go “from heaven to hell”, but Raphinha is experiencing the exact opposite this season. The Brazilian is going through the sweetest moment of his career as he has become not just a reference, but one of the main attacking figures of FC Barcelona.

The latest demonstration of this, for now, was in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Benfica at the Estádio Da Luz in the 61st minute, when he struck the ball with his left foot, sending it into the back of the net of the Lisbon goalkeeper to give Barça a hard-fought victory (0-1), in addition to reaching 9 goals in the Champions League.

Raphinha and his elite numbers in the 2024/25 season

Raphinha has scored 25 goals and provided 18 assists across all competitions and his leadership both on and off the field has made him a total reference in the Barça locker room. And it’s not just a one-time thing, as he previously scored a brace against Benfica in the historic match that took place in the Champions League group stage, a game that ended 4-5 in favor of Barcelona; Rafa has also become accustomed to showing up in big matches.

After reaching 9 goals in the Champions League, the '11' of Barça matched Robert Lewandowski and the Bayern Munich scorer, Harry Kane, remaining just 1 goal behind the Guinean Serhou Guirassy (Dortmund), the competition's top scorer. The Brazilian has undoubtedly become the best player in the competition, as in addition to his goals, he has 4 assists, meaning he has contributed to 13 of the 29 goals scored by Barcelona in the Champions League.

Gone is the frustrated Raphinha we saw in the 2023-24 season. Now he is more of a star that lights up everything, not just because of his numbers, but also due to the commitment, grit, and passion he shows while wearing the blaugrana jersey.