2026-01-30 15:05:27
Raphinha was disappointed not to win the Ballon d’Or last year.
The Barcelona forward finished fifth in the voting for the prestigious award, which was won by PSG’s Ousmane Dembele, last September and thinks that he deserved the accolade after an outstanding campaign.
Raphinha told Sofascore: “I was upset because I expected to be at least in the top three.
“I knew winning was very difficult, because the Champions League counts a lot for this award. So, I was upset with the position I ended up in. I would put myself in first place [for the Ballon d’Or].
“In my opinion, I think an individual award shouldn’t be based on a single competition. I deserved to have been in first place for what I delivered in the season, for the titles I won, for the numbers I achieved, and for everything I delivered on the field, I think I deserved to win.
“I’m satisfied and happy with the season I had. It’s not an individual award that will erase what I did last season.”
The Brazil international netted 34 goals in all competitions last season but acknowledged that his Ballon d’Or chances were harmed by Barca’s failure to win the Champions League.
Raphinha said: “I ended up understanding that it [Ballon d’Or] involves a lot of things that I can’t control and other things that are difficult to pinpoint.
“In my opinion, if it were based on the season as a whole, I would deserve it. I would place Lamine (Yamal) [in second] and Pedri (in third) in the final ranking, with Dembele in fourth.
“Since the award is based on a single competition, Dembele deserved to win, especially because he delivered a spectacular season.”
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