Thierry Henry supported Raphinha’s claim to win the Ballon d’Or 2025, largely because of his goals in the Champions League.
The Brazilian international successfully managed in the defeat of Benfica from 3-1 from Barça to Benfica last night to carry his count in the Europe Elite Club competition at 11.
The overall 4-1 victory of the Catalans means that they have reached a quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund or Lille.
And Henry thinks that Raphinha has ahead of Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane’s tastes in the race for the most individual grand prize in the game.
“Raphinha is ahead, with the Ballon d’Or.”
Thierry Henry thinks that the Barcelona star is a first favorite to win the prestigious prize 👇 pic.twitter.com/6t6v4meq0j
– CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@cbssportsgolazo) March 11, 2025
Henry Backs ‘Complete’ Raphinha
Speaking on CBS last night, the former French striker said: “He [Raphinha] is up there because of what he does in the Champions League. He has 11 goals in the Champions League.
“Mo Salah is a great competitor, Harry Kane is a competitor.
“Raphinha is on many goals with a single penalty. I am not saying that Kane should not have a penalty [stats] And Mo Salah has a Premier League season that we will never see again.
“But I say that if a guy has the same number of objectives that your guys have marked without penalties, it’s not bad, it’s exceptional.
“What he does in addition to defending, when people speak of being finished, as an attacker, you should know how to put pressure on and Raphinha has everything.”
Flick supports Henry’s sight
Raphinha also played a key role in Barcelona at the head of the Liga, although they are points with the points with Real Madrid and a just in front of Atletico Madrid.
The boss of Blaugrana, Hansi, spoke last week about the importance of Raphinha for his team.
The German said, “Raphinha for the Ballon d’Or? He is a candidate, yes. Of course, if he is doing well this season, he could have a chance.
“He always helps us a lot, and if you see the goals he has marked, it shows you how hungry he is. You see it, it is good to see how concentrated it is. I am happy with his level.
The best scorers in the Champions League of this season:
- 11 Raphinha (Barcelona)
- 10 Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
- 9 Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
- 8 Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
- 7 Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
