Neymar’s sharp dig at Raphinha’s Ballon d’Or ranking 👀 | OneFootball

The 2025 Ballon d'Or was not without controversy. The choice of Ousmane Dembélé as the winner over Lamine Yamal sparked reactions around the world, and although many agreed with the decision, some football figures expressed their dissatisfaction with other spots in the ranking.

Among them was Neymar, who shared a team with the French winger at PSG, but only for a short time before moving to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in 2023. The Brazilian star questioned the final assessment by France Football, although he did not dispute Dembélé's first place.

It's worth remembering that on previous occasions Neymar himself had been ironic about the performance of the “Mosquito,” laughing at statistical comparisons between the two. This time, his criticism was aimed at Raphinha's place in the final awards. The current Santos player responded to a post by an influencer from his country and didn't hesitate: “Raphinha being fifth is a joke,” he wrote on his Instagram account.

His response, which quickly went viral, added to the support he had already shown last season for Vinicius. Ney's annoyance is explained by the numbers: the Barcelona attacker scored more than 30 goals and was a key player in the treble that included La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Spanish Super Cup. With those stats, those around the Blaugrana expected greater recognition at the Paris ceremony.

The situation is reminiscent of what happened with Lamine Yamal, another star of the Catalan team whose performance was also outstanding throughout the year, although he did not receive the expected award. In Barcelona, they believe that the contributions of their stars were not valued as they should have been.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.