Barcelona superstar upset over 2025 Ballon d’Or snub – ‘I deserved to be first’ | OneFootball

In an exclusive interview with SofaScore, Barcelona winger and captain Raphinha has shared his feelings about being snubbed in the 2025 Ballon d’Or race.

Despite enjoying a spectacular campaign on an individual level and helping the team win multiple trophies, the Brazilian international did not even make it into the top three of the Ballon d’Or rankings.

Instead, it was Ousmane Dembele who walked away with the prize after PSG’s treble-winning campaign, with Raphinha’s teammate, Lamine Yamal, finishing second. Vitinha of PSG completed the podium.

Raphinha, who ended up fifth in the rankings, made it clear that he felt he deserved better in the voting and that he firmly believed that he should have won the Golden Orb last year.

“I was upset. I expected more. I expected to be in the top 3 at least. I knew winning would be difficult because the Champions League weighs a lot. So I was upset with the position I ended in,” said Raphinha.

“But I understand it involves many things I cannot control. Many things that are complicated to keep highlighting. What I can say is that I’m very satisfied with the season I had – and no individual award will erase what I did last season.”

Raphinha finished fifth in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

When asked who should have been the top three according to him, the Barcelona winger replied:

“Myself, personally, I would place myself first. I would place myself in first place! It is my understanding that an individual award cannot be based on a single competition.

“Based on that, I think I deserved to be first for what I delivered during the season, for the titles I won, for the numbers I achieved, and for everything I contributed on the pitch. I think I deserved to win.”

At the same time, he acknowledged the outstanding campaigns that Dembele and Lamine had, saying:

“As it is an award that is practically based on a single competition, Dembele deserved to win, especially since he also had a spectacular season. Lamine also had a spectacular season.

“But, in my view, if it were something based on the season itself, I think I deserved to win the award.”

The Brazilian then stated that Lamine and Pedri would be his pick for second and third places, with Dembele coming in fourth.