The 2024/25 season has been, by far, the best in Raphinha’s career to date. The winger moved to Barcelona in 2023, having caught the Catalan club’s eye with his form at Leeds United in the Premier League. After a solid, but not amazing, first season, there was talk of Barcelona potentially selling Raphinha, due to their financial problems.
Under Hansi Flick, however, Raphinha has developed into a phenomenal attacking force. At the time of writing, the Brazilian has notched 59 goal contributions in 55 games across all competitions. Combined with Barcelona winning both La Liga and the Copa del Rey, Raphinha’s name has been touted in Ballon d’Or conversations.
It has been a meteoric rise for the former Stade Rennais wide man, who is now sharing the pitch with some truly elite players. In January 2025, according to Sempre Barca as per SPORT, Raphinha discussed his sensational teammate, Lamine Yamal, hypothesising how many Ballon d’Or awards the youngster could win in his career.
‘Quite a Few’ Ballon d’Ors
Raphinha full of praise for Yamal
Since debuting for Barcelona in 2023 at the age of just 15 years old, Lamine Yamal has blossomed into one of the best young players, or just one of the best players, in the world. Yamal already has a number of records to his name and at the age of 17, has won two La Liga titles and a Euros Championship with Spain on international duty.
Lamine Yamal 24/25 Season Stats
Competition
La Liga
Champions League
Copa del Rey
Supercup
A sensational dribbler with a keen eye for either an assist or a goal, Yamal has already established himself as one of Barcelona’s best players. Not only is it a staggering feat given his age, but also given he has done so at a club of Barca’s stature, with Yamal having been compared to a certain Lionel Messi, a fellow famous La Masia graduate.
The public opinion of Yamal and his ability is something that Raphinha clearly shares, who made an optimistic prediction about the career that lies in the winger’s future. The Brazilian said:
“Lamine is going to win quite a few Ballon d’Or awards… let’s say three.”
Only five players in history have won three or more Ballon d’Or awards. Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten won three each in their careers, while Cristiano Ronaldo has won five and Messi has eight. For Yamal to be predicted as a three-time winner so early in his career is only a testament to the natural brilliance the winger has with the ball at his feet.
( All stats are fromTransfermarktand are correct as of 21/05/2025 )
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