Fabrizio Romano has revealed the incredible Ballon d’Or finishing position of Leeds United icon Raphinha after his 2024/25 campaign with Barcelona.
After leaving Leeds United in the summer of 2022, Raphinha is now a serious contender to win the Ballon d’Or after his exploits during his third season with the European giants.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 2022/23 | 50 | 10 | 12 |
| 2023/24 | 37 | 10 | 13 |
| 2024/25 | 57 | 34 | 25 |
| 2025/26 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
Now into his fourth campaign, the 28-year-old Brazilian has had a strong start to 2025/26 as well. That, of course, has no bearing on the events at the awards show tonight, but 59 goal involvements in 57 games were always likely to serve him well.
As far as his finishing position goes, it’s not just the consistent stream of goals and assists and the variety of those as well, but he was also 2024/25 La Liga Player of the Season and collected the most goals and most assists in last year’s UEFA Champions League.
Leeds United hero Raphinha finishes fifth in Ballon d’Or voting
The winger has reached true stardom since moving to the La Liga outfit. However, in so many ways, Raphinha was ‘out of the ordinary’ for Leeds.
That was evident when Raphinha re-enacted his Brentford antics for Barcelona at the end of last season. He walked across the pitch on just his knees and celebrated their title win in style.
Raphinha did the domestic treble, in spite of disappointment against Inter Milan in the latter stages of the Champions League. That is why Thierry Henry believes Raphinha will win the Ballon d’Or.
He has genuine magic in his feet and that match-winning ability sets him apart from many others. It is why Jayden Bogle and Joel Piroe’s Raphinha verdict is that he is one of the best players in the world.
Leeds icon Raphinha has been predicted to finish fifth by experts but Fabrizio Romano revealed his ranking on X (formerly Twitter) after an initial reveal of who the top ten are, with Raphinha in strong company.
Raphinha has finished fifth, as predicted, ahead of the likes of Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid and Nuno Mendes of Paris Saint-Germain. However, that places him below teammate Lamine Yamal and eventual winner PSG’s Ousmane Dembele in the end.
Either way, it highlights his incredible rise since leaving Elland Road for sunny Spain; fifth represents a huge achievement in that regard.
Leeds could have sold Raphinha for more than £55 million claims Deco
Raphinha starred for Leeds in the two seasons he was at the club, having a hand in 29 goals in his 67 Leeds games (17 goals, 12 assists). That form for the Whites, and for Brazil, earned him a £55 million (Sky Sports) move to the iconic Spanish side.
Raphinha only wanted to follow in the footsteps of Brazilian icons Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, and more. They were his heroes but it made negotiations more difficult for Leeds in terms of maximising a fee for the Brazilian star.
It was even claimed by Spanish media that Tottenham had tabled a £60 million Raphinha bid in the hopes of landing the former Sporting Lisbon and Rennes attacker in the summer of 2022.
Deco revealed more details on Raphinha interest. He explained that Spurs weren’t the only English side offering more. He said: “Arsenal and Chelsea wanted to sign Raphinha. They were both offering way more than Barca.
“It was Jordi Cruyff who asked me about Raphinha for the first time. I never offered Raphinha to Barca,” he added.
It looks like a total bargain for Barcelona, given the heights Raphinha has since hit with the La Liga giants.
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