Raphinha

Raphinha, full name Raphael Dias Belloli, is a Brazilian professional footballer born on 14 December 1996. He plays as a forward for Barcelona in La Liga, where he is club captain, and for the Brazil national team. Wikipedia notes his pace, work rate, playmaking and finishing.

Sports Illustrated (Español) placed Raphinha No. 4 in its 2025 ranking, France Football had him fifth at the 2025 Ballon d'Or and Bleacher Report also ranked him fifth, saying he was "the best player in the world for spells" of the season. FourFourTwo put him sixth, The Guardian eighth and the IFFHS ninth. FourFourTwo highlighted his resilience after a difficult start in Catalonia and his 34 goals in all competitions under Hansi Flick, playing on the left wing.

He started out at Avaí in Brazil, turned professional at Vitória de Guimarães in Portugal and won the Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga with Sporting CP in 2019. After spells at Rennes and Leeds United he joined Barcelona in 2022. In 2024–25 he was central to the club's domestic treble and finished as top scorer in the Champions League. For Brazil he debuted in 2021 and was in the squads for the 2022 and 2026 World Cups and the 2024 Copa América.

Sources of this text: Wikipedia · Sports Illustrated (Español) · France Football / L'Équipe · Bleacher Report · FourFourTwo · The Guardian · IFFHS