Gaizka Mendieta backs Raphinha to win 2025 Ballon d’Or

Former Barcelona midfielder Gaizka Mendieta has put his weight behind Raphinha to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or. The Brazilian midfielder has been in sensational form for Barcelona and Mendieta reckons he could bag the prestigious award.

In the ongoing La Liga, Raphinha has scored 13 goals and has provided eight assists in 27 matches. The midfielder has been sensational in the UEFA Champions, netting 11 goals and five assists in 10 matches of the tournament. Overall, he has scored 27 goals and 20 assists in 42 matches across all competitions for the Catalan club.

Raphina has also scored five goals in 10 matches of the World Cup qualifiers for Brazil.

Gaizka Mendieta said via Barca Universal, “For me, he’s a candidate for the Ballon d’Or for his numbers, his performance, and for being a leading captain. We saw in the match against Atletico that he fights for the last ball to score another goal. He’s the leader a team like Barça needs.”

Meanwhile, Raphina was involved in an altercation with Argentina players in the World Cup qualifier game, which Brazil lost by 1-4. Before the match, Raphinha added spice to the contest when he said “We’ll beat them up!” in an interview with Brazil great Romário.

Mendieta said, “When you make certain statements, you take a risk and you can quickly walk away with your ears down. I don’t think he did it to provoke, but rather he got carried away by emotion and by what that match means for Brazil and Argentina.”

On the other hand, Raphina revealed that head coach Hansi Flick convinced him to stay with Barcelona when he was on the verge of making a transfer move.

“The time after Copa America was very problematic. Every day there was news that I was going one way or the other, and I was also considering leaving Barcelona because there were some things I didn’t feel good about personally.”

“Hansi (Flick, coach) called me and told me to show up for training before making any decisions. He wanted to talk to me and he told me he was counting on me. That was an important point in my decision to stay. I talked to my wife and said, ‘If he’s a fair guy and sees us players for our commitment to training, I’ll give him one week to like me as a player’.”

FC Barcelona will next take on Girona in the La Liga on Sunday.