Ex-Leeds United star Raphinha addresses Ballon d'Or question after equalling 13-year Lionel Messi record
Former Leeds United favourite Raphinha ran riot in the Champions League with Barcelona last night.
Former Leeds United winger Raphinha remains focused on team honours with Barcelona as talk of a Ballon d’Or grows louder after he equalled a long-standing Lionel Messi record overnight.
Raphinha was at the heart of the action once again on Wednesday night as Barcelona romped to a 4-0 home win in their Champions League quarter-final first-leg meeting with Borussia Dortmund. The red-hot Brazilian opened the scoring inside 25 minutes, sliding in to push the ball over the line before laying on second-half assists for Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal.
Lewandowski scored a second for himself as the Blaugrana took a huge step towards the semi-finals and Raphinha will now have the opportunity to surpass a record the legendary Messi has held at Camp Nou for 13 years. The Argentinian, viewed by many as the greatest ever player and certainly Barcelona’s best, registered 19 goals involvements during his side’s 2011/12 Champions League campaign and that has now been matched by the former Leeds favourite.
Raphinha’s 12 goals and seven assists in the Champions League have contributed to a campaign in which the winger already has an incredible 48 goal contributions across all competitions, with Barcelona top of La Liga, into the Copa del Rey final and among the favourites for European glory. Speaking on CBS Sports following Wednesday’s game, former forward Thierry Henry tipped the in-form Brazilian to be crowned the world’s best player this year but focus is solely on winning silverware for his club.
Could Raphinha win the Ballon d’Or this year?
“For me, it’s a very special club,” Raphinha told CBS Sports, as translated by presenter Kate Scott, following Wednesday’s win. “I’ve had a huge affection since I was young. I’ve seen all the different generations of Barcelona. I understand that Barcelona is a very special club. It’s a childhood dream of mine to come here and do what we’re doing this season. It's very special, I hope we can continue this way and win lots of prizes.
“My head is not thinking about the Ballon d’Or. I want to win everything I can for Barcelona, that’s the most important thing for me. The goal I have is to win titles, and with titles, individual titles will come. But the most important thing for me is to win prizes with this shirt, which has been my dream since I was young.”
Having equalled Messi’s record last night, and on current form, Raphinha will be expected to increase his Champions League tally with the likelihood being he’ll have at least three games to do so. Barcelona’s second-leg trip to Dortmund comes next week and should they progress, a two-legged tie against one of Inter Milan or Bayern Munich - the former are 2-1 up with a home leg to come - will follow.
Barcelona are now favourites to win the entire competition and on current performances, they will be expected to meet Paris Saint-Germain in the final. The French club are 3-1 up against Aston Villa and look set to play Arsenal in the semi-finals, based on current first-leg scores.
Hansi Flick’s side are four points clear at the top of La Liga with eight games to play, while Real Madrid await in the Copa del Rey final later this month. Raphinha will certainly be at the front of the queue for the Ballon d’Or if he helps his side win the treble.
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