Ballon d'Or nomination 'already a victory' to Raphinha
Raphinha was one of Barcelona's standout performers in all competitions last season, which earned him a Ballon d'Or nomination.
Raphinha believes a Ballon d'Or nomination is "already a victory" while playing down his chances of winning the award after an impressive 2024-25 campaign.
The Brazilian was on the 30-man shortlist for the award in August, with the winner set to be announced in Paris on September 22.
He was one of four Barcelona players to be nominated, along with Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri, after the side won LaLiga, Supercopa de Espana and the Copa del Rey last season.
Across Europe's top five leagues in 2024-25, only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (57), who is also up for the award, registered more goal involvements than the Brazilian (56).
He also equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's 2013-14 Champions League record of 21 goal contributions in a single season in the competition, while only eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi (14 in 2011-12) has scored more goals for Barcelona in a single campaign than Raphinha's 13.
The 28-year-old also scored 18 goals and provided nine assists in LaLiga, finishing with 34 goals overall, with only Lewandowski (42) netting more.
But Raphinha remained coy when asked about his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.
"I think I will do my best to be better than I was," he said.
"With everything I've been through in my career, being at the ceremony is already a victory for me. One of the biggest in my professional life. It's not really a goal that I set for myself.
"My goal is to be better than I was yesterday, to be better than I was last season. So, if I'm at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, that's already a victory for me."
Raphinha is already off the mark in LaLiga this season, netting the opening goal of Barcelona's 3-0 win over nine-man Mallorca in their first match of the campaign last Saturday.
