The Ballon d'Or is one of the most sought-after trophies not just in global football, but in all of sport.
Bestowed upon the best football player in the world across the previous season, the award has turned superstars into legends of the game.
Barcelona star Raphinha was not considered a top contender for the award coming into the 2024/25 campaign, but he might just emerge with the trophy after one of the most complete seasons of any player around the world.
Helping to lead Barcelona to multiple trophies as well as a deep Champions League run, the 28-year-old Brazilian was consistent, dominant, and electric as he helped the star-studded La Liga giants to repeated glory.
MORE: Why Raphinha should win the 2024/25 Ballon d'Or
Raphinha stats 2024-25: Goals, assists, trophies for Barcelona
Raphinha was exceptional across the entirety of the 2024/25 season, proving himself one of the best players in the world.
Helping to lead Barcelona to a domestic treble with the La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa de Espana titles, Raphinha was electric in just about every single competition. Even in the Champions League, where Barcelona would suffer an agonising heartbreak in the semifinals, Raphinha was one of the competition's top performers.
Add in his four goals and one assist for Brazil in World Cup qualifying across the season, and he has one of the most complete resumes in the world heading into the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Data via Transfermarkt.com.
| Competition | Games (Starts) | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
| La Liga | 36 (32) | 18 | 9 | 2,845 |
| Copa del Rey | 5 (5) | 1 | 4 | 423 |
| UEFA Champions League | 15 (13) | 13 | 9 | 1,224 |
| Supercopa de Espana | 2 (2) | 2 | 1 | 169 |
| TOTAL | 57 | 34 | 23 | 4,661 |
Will Raphinha win the 2025 Ballon d'Or?
Nobody had a better 2024/25 season than Raphinha did for Barcelona. While it did not quite manage to lift the La Liga giants to the Champions League heights that is often required to win this award, that should not take anything away from his individual brilliance.
While it took Ousmane Dembele most of 2024 to get going into his world-class form which led PSG to the Champions League title, Raphinha was racking up goals and assists from the very start, and not only did he sustain that level across the entire campaign, he shined in the biggest games all year long.
Starting with the biggest matches for Barcelona, coming against rivals Real Madrid, Raphinha scored five goals and assisted two more across four Clasicos last season, including two braces, with one coming in the Supercopa de Espana final. Barcelona would win all four games.
That remained true for the Champions League as well, where Raphinha was exceptional all season long, tying Cristiano Ronaldo's record for most goal contributions in a single European campaign. Raphinha scored in just about every single big game of the journey, starting with a hat-trick against Bayern Munich in the league phase, leading Barcelona to a 4-1 win. He picked out five goals in the three matches against Benfica (two in the league phase and three in the two knockout games), followed up by a goal and two assists against Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals. He racked up a goal and two assists against Inter in the semis, even as his defence repeatedly collapsed behind him.
The 28-year-old suffered one slump, coming shortly after Brazil's 4-1 defeat to Argentina, but recovered to repeatedly lift Barcelona down the stretch of the season.
Raphinha played significantly more minutes and scored more goals than Ousmane Dembele, he put up better numbers than teammate Lamine Yamal, and enjoyed much more European success than that of Mohamed Salah. It is of our opinion at The Sporting News that Raphinha should be the winner of the 2025 Ballon d'Or.