Raphinha focuses on Barcelona after Ballon d’Or omission

Raphinha has refused to discuss his omission from the 30-player shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, insisting that his attention is firmly on Barcelona after scoring twice in their emphatic 5-1 win over Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona began their campaign in the competition’s league phase with a convincing victory at Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday evening. Raphinha contributed two goals to the five-goal display, continuing the strong form he has shown since the start of the season.

Asked about the result after the match, Raphinha said Barcelona had to meet the expectations of their home supporters.

“I think that when we play in front of our fans, we have to produce perfect football. The support of the supporters makes everything easier. Starting in this way gives us a lot of confidence,” he told Marca.

The Brazil international said the challenge would be maintaining that level throughout a long and demanding season.

“The season is very long, and it goes through many periods of ups and downs. Starting like this gives us a lot of confidence. Our idea is to continue in this way, reduce the periods of decline as much as possible and keep producing good performances,” he added.

Raphinha was also asked about his personal ambitions with Barcelona. The winger gave a brief response, saying: “I am working for that.”

His two goals against Feyenoord underlined his influence in the opening stages of the campaign, but he played down the importance of individual recognition when questioned about being left out of the Ballon d’Or race.

“I do not talk about that, I only talk about Barcelona,” he said.

Raphinha also explained his interaction with Lamine Yamal during the match. He said he understood when the teenager was beginning to lose his focus and tried to encourage him before Yamal eventually found the net.

“I already know him, and I know when he moves slightly out of the game, so I tried to encourage him and told him that he would score,” said Raphinha.

“And indeed, he managed to score, and he needed that. The most important thing is to be happy for your team-mate. I have played many matches in which I did not score, but if I know that I produced a good performance, I leave the game happy.”

The comments reflected Raphinha’s emphasis on collective success rather than the individual award debate. His response came after a night in which Barcelona made an ideal start to their European campaign, with their attacking players combining to secure a five-goal victory in front of their home crowd.

A related video report highlighted an unprecedented run achieved by Raphinha and noted that he had been six seconds short of a record associated with Lionel Messi.