Leeds United hero Raphinha finished fifth in Ballon d’Or voting but he met his Brazil and Barcelona hero Ronaldinho last night.
After leaving Leeds United in the summer of 2022, Raphinha was a serious contender to win the Ballon d’Or at the ceremony last night.
The winger has been incredible for European giants Barcelona, scoring or assisting 59 goals in 57 games in 2024/25 for the La Liga outfit. It wasn’t just for Barcelona that he impressed, though, with Raphinha ‘out of the ordinary’ for Leeds.
The 28-year-old is an eccentric character, as Raphinha re-enacted his Leeds vs Brentford antics for Barcelona at the end of last season. He walked across the pitch on just his knees and celebrated their domestic treble.
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Raphinha meets Ronaldinho at the Ballon d’Or
Thierry Henry believed Raphinha would win the Ballon d’Or for his campaign last season, but Raphinha finished fifth in the Ballon d’Or at last night’s awards behind Mohamed Salah, Vitinha, Lamine Yamal, and Ousmane Dembele.
Raphinha’s Barcelona teammate Lamine Yamal didn’t score or assist as many goals as the Brazilian but ended up second in voting behind PSG’s winning forward.
The 69th edition of the awards took place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and it’s a place for both current and former players to meet, with a number of the best footballers in the world past and present there to watch.
Raphinha only ever wanted to join Barcelona from Leeds and the Brazilian had good reason for that. Raphinha recalled watching his idol Ronaldinho in a Barcelona shirt as a child, stating: “It has been a dream of mine since I was a kid.
“And of my family as well. I am going to give my best in order to help the team. I started to watched Barcelona when Ronaldinho came here. Everything he achieved here influenced me.
“I’ve always wanted to come here. I was always hoping that one day that I would be able to realise my dream, to be a part of Barcelona. We all have our different ways of playing, of course.”
As posted by Aadam Patel on X (formerly Twitter), Raphinha and Yamal embraced their hero Ronaldinho last night in a touching moment.
Raphinha’s wife fumes at Ballon d’Or ranking
Raphinha is yet to comment on the decision but his wife has been very vocal on Instagram regarding a fifth-placed final position for her husband.
She said: “The STREETS will never forget this season! 61 G/A. You are a DUMB!”
Having scored and assisted 61 goals for Brazil and Barcelona last term, it is difficult to envisage how he could have done much more for only fifth and not a podium finish at least.
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