Barcelona captain already close to surpassing Vinicius Jr.’s ‘Ballon d’Or season’ numbers

It has been a season of transformation for Raphinha at FC Barcelona. From not being favoured and linked with an exit under Xavi Hernandez, to becoming the team captain and talisman under Hansi Flick, the Brazilian winger has come a long way and done so in style.

Last night’s UEFA Champions League encounter against SL Benfica marked another step for the Brazilian towards establishing himself as an icon at the club as he showed again that he is ready to step up as a hero for the team whenever needed.

The winger’s last-gasp goal, to clinch a dramatic 4-5 victory away at Benfica, will remain etched in the memories of fans for a long time to come.

Raphinha on the cusp of matching Vinicius’ best season tally

With his brace against Benfica, Raphinha now totals an impressive 25 goals (22 for Barcelona and 3 for Brazil) and 9 assists this season and we are still in January.

To put his extraordinary returns into perspective, one only needs to look at the numbers of one of the candidates for the last Ballon d’Or – Vinicius Jr. of Real Madrid.

Vinicius finished second in the Ballon d’Or for 2024, losing to Manchester City’s Rodri, after scoring 26 goals (two of them for Brazil) and providing 10 assists (one for Brazil) over the course of the 2023/24 season, playing a total of 45 matches.

With 34 matches played and still many months of the season left, Raphinha is just one goal and one assist away from matching those figures.

This is not in any way meant to diminish what the Real Madrid winger achieved last season, but rather to highlight the spectacular campaign that the Barcelona captain is having.

Raphinha has scored in every competition he has played in (11 in La Liga, eight in the Champions League, one in the Copa del Rey, and two in the Spanish Super Cup) and has assisted in all but the Copa del Rey, where he still has the chance to do so.

If he continues like this, Raphinha will have a shot at winning all the individual awards in a few months, if Barça go on to add more titles to their Super Cup triumph.