Ballon d'or 2025: Raphinha still can't accept Dembélé's triumph

Despite his brilliant performances last season, Raphinha had to watch from afar as Ousmane Dembélé claimed the 2025 Ballon d'Or. Since then, the Brazilian winger has struggled to come to terms with it.

Raphinha still hasn't digested the lack of recognition in the Ballon d'Or rankings after his impressive campaign. Disheartened, the Brazilian at least acknowledged that finishing fifth was an honorable achievement and that he felt he had reached a new level in his career after leaving the Premier League. Speaking to Sofascore, he expressed even more bitterness on the subject.

"In my opinion, an individual award shouldn't be decided by just one competition. Based on that, I think I deserved to win it, given my season, the titles I won, my stats, and everything I brought to the team on the pitch," he told the media outlet.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.