ESPN pundit says ‘unplayable’ Barcelona star has been the ‘best player in La Liga’ this season | OneFootball

Recent seasons have been full of ups and downs for FC Barcelona, and things have looked quite frustrating at times. Fortunately for the Catalan giants, the time under Hansi Flick so far has been anything but inconsistent. In fact, the consistency that Barcelona is displaying right is the very reason they are playing so well.

With a new kind of confidence about them, La Blaugrana are playing fluid football that is all about outscoring their opponents and winning games week in and week out. However, special praise must be given to specific players who are truly working wonders in Flick’s system.

One of them is 27-year-old Brazilian forward Raphinha, whose season so far has quite possibly been his best one yet. In fact, based on numbers alone, he is one of Europe’s most productive players right now given the sheer amount of goals and assists that he has already contributed to Barcelona.

Now, however, he will have to the chance to do the exact same for his struggling National team. So far, Brazil has not looked convincing in recent times and their struggles have continued into the World Cup qualifiers as well. With both Neymar Jr and Vinicius Jr out injured for the upcoming games, the responsibility is now placed on Raphinha to lead his country.

Even Shaka Hislop, a regular ESPN pundit and former professional goalkeeper, shared his thoughts about the €50 million-rated Barcelona star in a recent video while discussing the poor form of Brazil and how an ‘unplayable’ Raphinha could be exactly what they need right now:

“Given how poor Brazil have been, they need something and Raphinha has been arguably the best player in Spanish football right now. You look at his performance on the weekend, and he is simply unplayable.”

He also went on to praise the player’s versatility while also stating that he believes him to have been the best player in La Liga so far this season:

“Raphinha can also play on either side comfortably, but just given his performances on the left side of Barça’s three-pronged attack, and I double down and say, he has been La Liga’s best player so far this season.”

As for Brazil, Hislop seems to think that there is no better time than now for Raphinha to get his chance to lead his country given how they have never needed him more than now:

“He is needed, and Brazil need him now more than ever.”

With the international break now being in play, several Barcelona players will be away on duty for their respective countries. For Raphinha, his duty will involve trying to help Brazil overcome their next two World Cup qualifying games to improve their chances of getting to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.