Snubbed by the Ballon d'Or, Equaling Messi: Inside Raphinha's historic 3 day masterclass

FC Barcelona winger Raphinha produced a decisive hat-trick to lead his side to a 3-1 victory over Sevilla FC at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, extending the Catalan club's flawless start to the La Liga campaign.

Read Also: Raphinha criticises Atlético Madrid over the Julián Álvarez affair

A historic goalscoring run

Barcelona faced an early setback on Saturday when Youssouf Fofana opened the scoring for Sevilla in the 19th minute.

However, the visitors quickly responded through Raphinha. The Brazilian equalised in the 22nd minute with a right footed finish following a run from deep, added a second with a header in the 52nd minute and completed his hat-trick in the 69th minute with a left footed strike assisted by Lamine Yamal.

The performance capped an extraordinary week for Raphinha who also registered a hat-trick just three days earlier in a 7-2 victory over Racing Santander.

According to the reported statistics, this makes him the first player in modern Spanish top-flight history to score consecutive hat-tricks within a three-day span.

He now leads the league's scoring charts with 12 goals in seven appearances, matching the early-season output achieved by Lionel Messi in the 2012 and 2013 campaigns. Across all competitions this season, the winger has already accumulated 14 goals and 17 direct goal contributions.

Tactical freedom under Hansi Flick

Raphinha's unprecedented attacking output is heavily linked to the tactical adjustments introduced by manager Hansi Flick. Rather than operating as a traditional touchline winger, the Brazilian has been deployed as a free-roaming forward.

By exploiting the half-spaces and moving centrally, he has become the primary goal threat and the trigger for Barcelona’s high press. This setup has guided the team to 21 point from seven matches, establishing a five-point lead over Atlético Madrid at the top of the table.

The Ballon d'Or omission

While his on-pitch performances have driven Barcelona's domestic dominance, Raphinha's recent exclusion from the 30 man shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d'Or has sparked significant debate.

The Catalan press has heavily criticised the omission and the sentiment was echoed by the Sevilla manager following the match.

"Excluding Raphinha from the 30 man Ballon d'Or list is a public farce and a ridiculous joke against football and sporting logic" the opposing coach stated.

When asked about the perceived injustice during the post-match press conference, Raphinha dismissed the controversy entirely.

"I don't care about their lists or voting... I don't speak their political language, I am here to speak only one language... and that is goals on the pitch" the Brazilian remarked.

Khaled Hegazy |

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Journaliste sportif spécialisé dans la couverture du football et la création de contenu numérique, alliant expérience éditoriale et expertise des médias sociaux.

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