"I deserved the Ballon d'Or" - Raphinha criticizes the criteria for football's top award
Barcelona winger Raphinha has openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the results of the Ballon d'Or voting for the first time.
Details: In an interview with SofaScore, the Brazilian stated that he believes he should have topped the list of the world's best footballers, based on his achievements throughout the past season.
"I believe I deserved to be first in the race for the Ballon d'Or—considering the titles I've won, my stats, and everything I brought to the team's game," Raphinha emphasized.
The player noted that the award has now become too dependent on success in a single tournament, rather than consistency over the year.
Raphinha also added that the criteria for selecting the winner seem unfair to him:
"Basically, this trophy is now given based on Champions League results. Ousmane Dembélé also deserved it... but if we're talking about the entire season, I'm certain I should have been the one to win."
Reminder: For the first time since Messi, Barcelona scored a direct free-kick goal in the Champions League.
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
