The FC Barcelona squad enjoyed a day off on Friday in Seoul. Several players took the opportunity to grant interviews to club media, Catalan and from around the world at the Four Seasons Hotel, where the club has been staying since last Tuesday.
One of the Barça players to attend to the press was Raphinha. The Brazilian reviewed his current situation with the Azulgrana team in a chat with 'SPORT' where he did not hesitate to reiterate that, the 24/25, without a doubt, was his best season as a professional. In addition, regarding the course that begins in 15 days, the '11' pointed out what will be his main objective and that of the club.
"The Champions League is a personal challenge of my career and it is also an objective of the club: to win the sixth Champions League. I, in particular, will do everything possible to make it happen. And surely the players are thinking the same," argued the Porto Alegre native.
Rafa closed the last edition of the top club competition in Europe as Pichichi with 13 goals. In addition, he made history by becoming the Brazilian with the best offensive records in a Champions League season, as he also gave 9 assists.
Raphinha 'gets wet' about his chances for the Ballon d'Or and Lamine's favoritism
Regarding his performance, the 28-year-old winger was honest about his chances of entering the favorites for the Ballon d'Or along with Lamine Yamal. For the '11' culé, the most important thing is that this year's election "is fair".
"What I see may not matter, it's very complicated to be honest. For me, many times it is a somewhat complicated award, but what matters to me is to be the best in the world in my house for my family, for my children, it is the people who matter to me," he argued.
In turn, he praised Lamine, leaving the door open to his possible favoritism. "He is a spectacular player. If it depends on him, he will be the best player in the world for many years. It only depends on him, you have to work very hard because he has the talent," argued the Brazilian.
In that sense, he did not hesitate to defend the winger for the criticism related to his birthday party. For Raphinha, those who criticize the Mataró native would probably do much worse things if they had fame and money.
"(Lamine) has to take advantage... When he is on vacation he has to do what he wants and it doesn't matter what they think. He is a super committed child with the team, with the squad and the results silence those who speak," he pointed out.
Rashford's signing and the difficult mission of improving his 24/25 records: Raphinha is honest
On the other hand, the Azulgrana winger does not hesitate to be able to achieve even better records than those of 24/25, where he led the squad in direct participation in goals, with 34 goals and 23 assists.
"I always try to find my best version in training, matches, the season. And well, last season I tried to make it better than the previous one. This season I will try to make it even better than last season," explained the South American striker.
In turn, he was confident in continuing to be a protagonist despite the arrival of Marcus Rashford. "To play with this shirt, in this club, you have to be prepared for all the competition there is. In my opinion, the more competition we have, the better. In the end, this helps one to evolve the other and this is the most important thing if we want to win titles."
Similarly, Raphinha did not hesitate to ratify his support for Marc-André ter Stegen, who he believes should maintain the captaincy of Barça if he finally stays. For the '11', it is necessary to maintain the hierarchies, although the decision must be made by the club.
"Even if Ter Stegen is not captain, he will continue to be a special person. Since I arrived he has always helped me. Whether there are votes or not is a question for the coach or the president," said the Brazilian, who is confident of continuing to win titles with the club. Recently, Rafa renewed for one more year, until 2028.
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