A Raphinha of GOLD: 27 goals and 17 assists this season

The immediate future of Raphinha is painted in gold. The Brazilian has become the master of statistics, leaving his mark in the records night after night and being a key piece in the success of FC Barcelona this season. This Tuesday, the '11' once again played a leading role in a new victory for the culés against Benfica (3-1), this time to secure their qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The winger established himself as the great executioner of the 'eagles', celebrating a brace in the first 45 minutes to seal the team's victory early under the direction of Hansi Flick. The Porto Alegre native opened the scoring in the 11th minute after a great assist from Lamine Yamal and, just before halftime, completed the rout for the blaugranas with a superb cross shot, which highlighted his brutal improvement in front of goal this season.

With these two goals, 'Rapha' reached 11 goals in the Champions League, becoming the top scorer of the tournament and the first Brazilian in the history of the continental championship to reach that figure in a single edition. Furthermore, he is the third player from Barça with the most goals in European competitions in a single season, behind Messi and alongside Rivaldo.

The Argentine star scored 15 goals in the 2011-2012 season (14 goals in the Champions and 1 in the UEFA Super Cup), 12 goals in both the 2010-2011 and 2018-2019 seasons, and another 11 in the 2016-2017 season, while his compatriot celebrated 11 goals in the 2000-2001 season (6 goals in the European Cup and 5 goals in the UEFA Cup). Raphinha, in this way, joins a privileged list of club legends.

⚽Most goals with Barcelona in European competitions in a single season:

• Lionel Messi - season 2011-12: 15
• Lionel Messi - season 2010-11: 12
• Lionel Messi - season 2018-19: 12
• Raphinha - season 2024-25: 11
• Lionel Messi - season 2016-17: 11
• Rivaldo - season 2000-01: 11

Raphinha presents his candidacy for the Ballon d'Or

In total, the Porto Alegre native has accumulated 27 goals and 17 assists in 41 matches played, in what is by far his best season since arriving in the Catalan capital. These 27 goals are distributed in LaLiga (13), Champions League (11), Supercopa de España (2), and Copa del Rey (1), while his assists are spread across the league (7), the continental tournament (5), the Cup (4) and the Supercup (1), overwhelmingly surpassing his records in his first two seasons as a culé.

Moreover, with these numbers, 'Rapha' has shattered the statistics that made Vinicius one of the top candidates to win the Ballon d'Or last season. The Real Madrid winger, who lost the award to Rodri, scored 25 goals and provided 12 assists in 40 matches played, so, with a significant part of the season still to play, the '11' culé aims to multiply these records.

If he succeeds, the forward would become a strong favorite to win the award given by France Football for the best player of the footballing year. Especially if Barça wins any major trophy, a fact more than likely as the culés are fully engaged in the race for all titles and the dream of the treble is more alive than ever.