Barcelona trio unfairly under-ranked in 2025 Ballon d’Or – Opinion | OneFootball

The Ballon d’Or might be considered one of the most coveted individual awards in football, but there has always been debate about its meritocracy, given that it is decided by votes from journalists around the world.

Some decisions have long been baffling to the ardent football fan, and the 2025 edition was no different. Barcelona, in particular, would be justified in feeling hard done by in terms of the results.

Yes, Lamine finished second behind Ousmane Dembele, but that was not an exaggerated decision. As much as Barcelona fans wanted the Spaniard to claim the trophy, the Frenchman had the better year in terms of team success.

However, what was absolutely appalling to see was the ranking of other nominated Barcelona players: Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, and Raphinha. The Pole, who scored 42 goals and provided 3 assists in 52 games last season across all competitions, finished 17th.

Lewandowski lifted the domestic treble with Barcelona, yet finished behind Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, who scored 22 goals and provided 19 assists in 58 games, and went trophyless. Make sense of that if you can. Nothing beats the 2020 robbery, but this is still one in every sense.

As for Pedri, the Spanish magician who took England by storm with his performance against Newcastle United at St James’ Park, he finished 11th. How the Canary Islands midfielder did not make the top 10 is beyond comprehension.

Pedri played the most games for Barcelona last season, missing only one throughout the campaign. He was arguably the most important player for Hansi Flick and the first name on the team sheet, and he rarely dropped a poor performance.

The 22-year-old was the best midfielder in the world without doubt, and one wonders what criteria decided he was only the 11th-best player in the world last season. Not that he seems the type to care.

Finally, the icing on the spoiled cake: Raphinha. The Brazilian scored 34 goals and provided 25 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions. He won the La Liga Player of the Season award and finished as the top scorer in the Champions League alongside Serhou Guirassy.

In terms of pure numbers, not many players can hold a candle to the Brazilian in the 2024/25 season. He was decisive in all the big games for Barcelona and won three trophies. He was also the protagonist for his nation in their World Cup qualification campaign.

Despite all this, for some reason, Raphinha was deemed to finish only fifth in the Ballon d’Or rankings in Paris. He finished behind Vitinha, who did not have as good an individual season as him, and Salah, who won fewer trophies.

Do not take only our word for it when we say Raphinha was done dirty. His compatriot, Neymar Jr., labelled it an absolute joke that the 28-year-old finished only fifth in the rankings. It further adds to the persistent controversy surrounding the award.

From a Barcelona perspective, all one can hope for is that this setback acts as fuel for the players, channelling their performances as they look to win everything this season. If they manage that, there will be no stopping them in Paris next year. Let us wait and see how it plays out.