What Makes Raphinha The Best In The World?
When you think of the best player in the world this season, you most probably will think of Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal or Vinicius Jr. But what if I were to say, that Raphinha has had a better season than all of the names listed above. The Brazilian winger has had a great start to the season already providing 5 assists and scoring 6 goals in all competitions in just 10 appearances for FC Barcelona.
In terms of G/A, Raphinha ranks right at the top of the list of players across the top European leagues. But it’s not just his numbers that make him so good. It’s his passion and versatility. Primarily a Right-Winger, the Blaugrana number ’11’ has played mostly as the Left-Winger for Barcelona as Lamine Yamal occupies the Right side. However, due to Dani Olmo’s injury, Raphinha has played a lot of times in the number 10 role as a second striker behind Robert Lewandowski.
And may it be anywhere on the pitch, this season under Hansi Flick, Raphinha has never once failed to perform well. It feels like the Brazilian forward has not 2, but 3 lungs. He has not only been Barcelona’s best player this season but also been Barca’s hardest-working player. But it wasn’t long ago when Raphinha wanted to leave the sport of Football for good.
Raphinha Was Going To Quit Football For Good
Recently before Brazil’s Copa America campaign got underway, Raphinha opened up about the difficulties he had been facing as a professional footballer and how he was close to quitting. He further talked about how it was his newborn son who kept him going.
Raphinha stated, “A few times in my career, I say even a few times very recently, I thought about giving up everything because of personal problems, professional problems, I thought about giving up, giving up football.”
“I wouldn’t have to go through some mental problems or some difficulties with aggression in media matters or even because of the fans, for not doing what they think I should be doing. I’ve thought about giving up, I thought about quitting football. But nowadays I have a greater strength, which is my son.”
“It broke me, man. Imagining that one day my son could see me as an inspiration in football, not being the best player in the world, but just being a reference for him is worth a lot,” he added.
“Being able to see my son grow up and being aware of seeing his father play football, representing big clubs, was a big motivation to continue with this idea of not giving up football. And also my dream of winning titles with the Seleção shirt. This weighed heavily on my decision.”
Raphinha’s inspirational story is proof that comebacks are always greater than setbacks. His journey to being the best player in the world currently hasn’t been easy but he will hope to stay there for as long as possible.
