Brazilian Raphinha is having the season of his career, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if, by the end of the year on the red carpet in Paris, he’s crowned the best player in the world. A tally of 31 goals and 25 assists in 52 matches across all competitions, first place in La Liga (with realistic chances of winning the title), and the possibility of lifting the Champions League trophy with Barcelona — all of this seems to position him as a leading contender for the Ballon d’Or. And yet, just a year ago, things were looking bleak for this young man. Raphinha recalled those moments, revealing that a phone call from Hansi Flick during June — while he was at the Copa America — prevented him from accepting an offer from Saudi Arabia.53 goal contributions this season for Raphinha…He really is COOKING. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/C0AUU4Xmfm— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) May 6, 2025 Raphinha had already been asking Neymar about the conditions in the Middle East and discussing a move with his wife when the unexpected call from the German coach came, along with a clear message: “I seriously count on you this season”.“I felt that Xavi and his coaching staff didn’t trust me enough. Sometimes I would do everything in 60 minutes, but he would come in as substitutes. I tried to fix my situation, I spoke a lot with him, but there was no change. He had his own way of thinking. When there was no one else, I was there, and I played 90 minutes. And I gave it my all, I settled games. But when there was another who could have been in my position, I put him on without thinking. There’s an iconic video in which I exploded when I got to the bench and hit the seat. I think it was in the game against Manchester United, where I did really well, I scored a goal and gave an assist. I think it was 2-2 and he took me off. I had just created a very clear chance. I felt comfortable and was playing very well. And the first substitution was me. When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it,” he said in an interview for journalist Isabela Pagliari’s YouTube channel.Yamal vs. Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Rooney, Haaland in their first 100 matchesUnder Flick, Raphinha didn’t just become a goal and assist machine — he also became captain, one of the most important figures in the locker room. He rated his own performance this season a 7.5 out of 10 and named several others as contenders for the Ballon d’Or. He revealed that one of Flick‘s main qualities are his care for players.“Hansi cares a lot about the players, both those who play and those who don’t. I was deeply moved by his attitude toward Vitor Roque’s departure. He was more worried than Vitor about what was going to happen. He went to the board to find out about Vitor’s situation. There was a training session where Vitor was very upset with this ‘go, don’t go’, ‘stay, don’t stay’ situation, some people telling him to talk, others to leave… Then there was a training session where he made a lot of stupid mistakes. He finished the first part of the training and burst into tears. Then the coach called me to help him translate. He asked me what was going on, and Vitor couldn’t even speak. He said, ‘Ask him if he wants to leave,’ and Vitor said ‘yes.’ Hansi told him, ‘No problem, you can go. Rest. Afterwards, he met with the players and didn’t reprimand them, but he told them we had to take care of ourselves, because if everyone was well, the team’s chances of success were much greater. If we didn’t all follow the same path, there wouldn’t be any success. But he told me, ‘Rafa,’ tell him I don’t want him to leave, that the team is very high right now and he’s a little low, but I’m counting on him…” recalled the Brazilian.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI FINALTuesday 22:00: (2.75) Inter (3.80) Barcelona (2.50)Wednesday22:00: (2.15) PSG (3.60) Arsenal (3.60)***odds are subject to change***
