Miracle worker: Rafael named São Paulo fans’ player of the year | OneFootball

In a terrible year for São Paulo, the best player of the season as chosen by the fans could only be one: goalkeeper Rafael, who stood out and was a hero in several matches for the team in this traumatic 2025.

In a poll conducted on the AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR social media, the team captain was the clear favorite among São Paulo fans: 67% of more than ten thousand participants named Rafael as the main player for Tricolor this year.

Midfielder Marcos Antonio was the second most voted and ended up being the fans’ favorite among the outfield players. The midfielder received 22% of the participants’ votes.

Luciano, the team’s top scorer for the third consecutive year and the player with the most goal involvements this season, received only 7% of the fans’ preference, while left-back Enzo Díaz got just 4% of the votes from São Paulo supporters, among the four options chosen by our team.

Rafael simply played in 60 out of São Paulo’s 68 matches this season, by far the player with the most minutes for the team, totaling 5,268.

In the Brasileirão, he was the third goalkeeper with the most total saves (112), the fifth with the most clean sheets (12), and the third with the most saves inside the box (69), according to Sofascore data. Rafael was also among the leaders in goals prevented (10.38).

Besides being a great goalkeeper, Rafael also became one of the main leaders of the squad, always motivating the team in the locker room before matches, and often representing the group in post-match interviews. This year, he reached 177 appearances wearing the Tricolor shirt.

If 2026 promises to be even tougher than this year, at least in goal we have the certainty and security of a name who has already won over the fans and has saved the team countless times this season: Saint Rafael!

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