Neymar slams Raphinha’s fifth place in Ballon d’Or: “That’s a real joke” | OneFootball

On Monday, Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain won the Ballon d'Or, while Raphinha of Barcelona came in fifth place. In a post made by journalist Eduardo Semblano on Instagram, Neymar disapproved of the Brazilian's ranking.

"Raphinha in fifth is too much of a joke," commented the striker.

Raphinha was behind Salah, Vitinha, Yamal, and champion Dembélé. The Barcelona player ended the season with impressive numbers: 34 goals and 24 assists in 57 matches, in addition to winning LaLiga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup.

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In the Champions League, the Brazilian was the top scorer, with 13 goals, and also the leader in assists, with nine, but was eliminated in the semifinals against Inter Milan. For the national team, however, his performance was below expectations: he was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Copa America, on penalties against Uruguay.

Dembélé, on the other hand, was the star in a historic season for PSG. He won the club's first ever Champions League, being named the best player of the competition after a 5-0 rout over Inter Milan in the final. In addition, he won the French Championship and the French Cup.

The last time a Brazilian player won the Ballon d'Or was in 2007, 18 years ago, when Kaká shone with the Milan shirt. Before him, other idols were also crowned: Ronaldo (1997 and 2002), Rivaldo (1999) and Ronaldinho Gaúcho (2005).

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