FC Barcelona were able to get the better of SL Benfica last night in the second leg of the Round of 16 clash in the UCL, and this win allowed the Blaugranes to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.
The Brazilian winger Raphinha was once again pivotal for his side, as he scored two goals in this game. With these two strikers, the forward is now the top scorer in the UCL, having scored 11 goals up to now.
This situation also makes the Barcelona star one of the clearest candidates for winning the next Ballon d’Or, and Hansi Flick had already acknowledged his chances of winning this prestigious individual prize even before the match against Benfica.
Now, following his last night’s performance, another well-known voice is supporting his candidacy to win the biggest individual prize in football, i.e., Thierry Henry.
The former Barcelona forward appeared on CBS Sports Golazo, and as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, he ranked Raphinha as his top pick for the next Ballon d’Or winner.
“He’s up there. For me, Raphinha is ahead right now. He has scored 11 goals in the Champions League. Mo Salah is a strong candidate, Kane as well, and Dembélé depends… If you perform well in the Champions League and also win your league, obviously you’ll have a chance. But Raphinha is at his best, scoring many goals with only one penalty.”
“I’m not saying that Kane or Salah—who is having a Premier League season we might never see again—shouldn’t take penalties, but if a player scores as many goals as the rest without penalties… I’m not saying what they’ve done is any less incredible, but we need to talk about Raphinha more.”
“What Raphinha is doing, besides pressing and defending… Because when people talk about a complete forward, they should also mention pressing, defending, helping the fullback, and pressing well. There are many things to do, and Raphinha has it all.”
Henry highlights some very important things about Raphinha’s game, which have largely remained under the radar despite his excellent performances this season.
Hopefully, Barcelona will be able to take full advantage of having such a complete forward in their squad, and end up winning some important titles by the end of the season.
