‘Deserves the Ballon d’Or’… Cafu backs Barcelona star to win the biggest individual prize in football this year | OneFootball

The 2024-25 season is approaching its end, and FC Barcelona are still in contention for all the big titles. The Catalans have already secured their passage to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, a tie in which they will face Inter Milan, are at the top of La Liga, and will be playing the final of the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid this Saturday.

Almost the entire team has played its part in helping the Blaugranes have such a successful season so far, but the most brilliant player in Hansi Flick’s team has been the winger Raphinha.

The Brazilian is already being seen as one of the contenders for the Ballon d’Or this year, and several notable commentators have backed him to win this title.

The latest such individual to express his belief in Raphinha’s right to win the Ballon d’Or was his illustrious compatriot, the former Brazilian fullback Cafu.

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the former AC Milan defender was clear that the Barcelona forward deserves to win the biggest individual prize in football:

“To be honest, because of the numbers he’s putting up, the records he’s breaking at Barcelona, and everything he’s been doing, Raphinha deserves the Ballon d’Or.”

The former Brazil international also identified the main rival for Raphinha for this title:

“It’s Mohamed Salah, who’s been doing a fantastic job at Liverpool.”

Both these players are having an amazing season, as the Brazilian has scored 30 goals and provided 23 assists, while the Egyptian has scored 32 goals and provided 23 assists.

However, Raphinha is still on track to win all three big trophies. On the other hand, Salah has almost wrapped up the Premier League title, but his side was eliminated from the UCL in the Round of 16, which can hurt his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or.

Still, it would be quite interesting to see which of these two stars, or someone else, gets his hands on the biggest individual trophy in football at the end of the year.