Barcelona star Raphinha has this week revealed his take that he was deserving of a place on the podium at the latest Ballon d’Or ceremony.
In fact, the Brazilian feels as though he should have claimed the golden ball outright.
The 2025 Ballon d’Or was of course presented at a lavish ceremony in Paris back in September.
When all was said and done, it was Paris Saint-Germain standout Ousmane Dembélé – fresh off a historic Champions League triumph – who bagged the prestigious prize.
The aforementioned Raphinha, on the other hand, was forced to make do with a 5th-placed finish.
After nothing short of a sensational year, giving rise to over 60 direct goal contributions, many were quick to voice their collective takes that this was far too low a ranking for the former Leeds United man.
And as alluded to above, on Thursday, Raphinha himself has backed such claims.
Speaking in an interview with Sofascore, as cited by Livescore, Barcelona standout Raphinha admitted:
”I think I deserved to win. I expected at least to be in the top-3.”
Conor Laird – GSFN
