Barcelona will fight across three fronts in the final two months of the 2024/25 season after sealing their spot in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Raphinha was once again the scourge of Benfica as the Brazil star inspired Hansi Flick to victory against the Portuguese side in the Round of 16.
The 28-year-old brought his tally against them to four goals this season, after scoring once each in the league phase and the first leg, before a double against Bruno Lage’s visitors in Catalonia.
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Two first-half goals from Raphinha – plus a wonder strike from Lamine Yamal – saw Barcelona cruise on and add more numbers to his impressive season tally.
He is now onto 27 goals and 17 assists split across all competitions in 2024/25 in by far the best campaign of his career. That form has forced the former Leeds United attacker into the Ballon d’Or conversation for 2025 and Thierry Henry believes he deserves to be the current favourite.
What did Thierry Henry say on Raphinha’s Ballon d’Or chances?
As part of his post-game analysis for CBS Sports, Henry highlighted Raphinha’s incredible exploits, and how his lack of penalties is giving him an edge over Liverpool star Mohamed Salah and Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane.
“Raphinha is ahead, yes, [in the Ballon d’Or race]. Because of what he is doing in the Champions League, he’s on 11 goals,” he said.
“Raphinha is ahead, with the Ballon d’Or.”
Thierry Henry believes the Barcelona star is an early favorite to take home the prestigious award 👇 pic.twitter.com/6t6V4meq0J
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 11, 2025
“Mo Salah is a great contender for it, Harry Kane is a contender and [Ousmane] Dembele too, it depends.
“Raphinha is on a lot of goals with only one penalty scored. I’m not saying Kane shouldn’t have penalties. Salah is having a season in the Premier League that we will never see again, but if a guy has virtually the same amount of goals as you, but without penalties, I’m not going to say it’s bad what you did, it’s outstanding.
“But this guy [Raphinha], I have to talk a bit more about him.
“What Raphinha is doing on top of his defending and pressing. When people talk about being complete, as a striker you need to know how to put pressure on and defend, help your full-back and press well, it’s a lot of things you need to do and Raphinha has it all.”
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Raphinha vs. Salah: Key stats Ballon d’Or race
With Liverpool eliminated from the Champions League, Raphinha has an edge over the Egypt star, who is potentially on the road to leaving Anfield in June.
Arne Slot’s side are cruising to the Premier League title, but Salah will miss out on the big European prize, and that could impact his Ballon d’Or chances.
He is ahead of Raphinha in the main stats, with 32 goals and 22 assists at club level this season [including 11 penalties], but trophies also matter and Barcelona are pushing for La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UCL.
Salah’s 27 EPL goals and 17 assists places the 32-year-old as the leader in both metrics across Europe’s top five leagues [domestic action only] but Raphinha leads the two Champions League tallies with 11 goals and five assists.
🤝 De: Lamine Yamal
🤝 Para: Raphinha pic.twitter.com/DfzoCAOXsP— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) March 13, 2025
Ballon d’Or rules indicate the decision is made based on performances in a set season, in this case 2024/25, and Raphinha has more options open than Salah – despite neither player being included on the 2023/24 shortlist of 30 players.
Barcelona head to Atletico Madrid on March 16 – in their final game before the international break – with Flicks’ side drawn against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last eight.
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