A leading member of the attacking ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona has on Tuesday come in for fresh Ballon d’Or candidacy shouts.
The player in question? Raphinha.
Wide-man Raphinha has for his part been in nothing short of wonderful form once again this evening.
Locked in action with Benfica in a Champions League Last-16 clash, the Brazilian has put Barcelona all but out of sight.
After notching the only goal in the tie’s opener, Raphinha has since added to as much by way of a superbly-taken brace in Catalunya’s capital.
This comes amid what has been an electric all-round performance, adding to a historic campaign for the former Leeds United man all told.
So much so that, on Tuesday evening, calls have begun to mount once more for Raphinha to be taken into consideration as a leading candidate to scoop the Ballon d’Or award later this year:
Raphinha passes the eye test much greater than Salah, Vini, and Mbappe this season.
The stats back him. The eye test backs him. The *potential* titles could back him.
Raphinha is looking like the Ballon D’Or front runner.
— EiF (@EiFSoccer) March 11, 2025
Conor Laird – GSFN