Barcelona have been in top form over the course of the 2024-25 season so far, and it is their attack that has swept aside teams at times. Robert Lewandowski already has 14 goals in La Liga, but just as impressive has been the other two points of the attacking trident: Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.
Much of the talk in recent months has been about the latter, who is already a world class talent despite being 17 years of age. He’s been compared to Lionel Messi on numerous occasions – not only because of their similar playstyles, but also because both came through the La Masia set-up.
However, Raphinha has told El Pais that he actually sees Lamine Yamal as being more similar to another Barcelona icon.
“I see him more like Neymar – the dribbling, how fast he thinks to dribble. When you think you can steal the ball from him, he does something you’ve never seen in your life.”
Raphinha has become a leading figure for Barcelona this season, having previously been used as a bit-part player under Xavi Hernandez. Hansi Flick has taken his game to a new level, although he admitted that he does not see himself as a protagonist, despite having been captain on several occasions.
“I don’t feel like a protagonist. I do know that I’m having a good season, but the whole team is the protagonist. If we score 10 goals, but concede 10, the game ends in a draw. When everyone is on form, it is natural for strikers to excel more, they are the ones who score goals. In my opinion, they are all protagonists.”
During those difficult times mentioned, Raphinha admitted that he did think about life away from Barcelona – and it’s happened on several occasions.
“At times, yes. Above all, during the first six months, those before the World Cup. But I’ve also felt it in the rest of the windows. They always said one thing or another, that if it didn’t work, if I had to sell myself.”
Raphinha spoke on a wide-range of subjects during his interview, and one was about the pressures of being a footballer in the social media age. He addressed the matter of trolls going after footballers, him included.
“I didn’t play football when there were no social networks, so I can’t compare. But in the current context, in which people think that, because you upload a photo on Instagram, they have the right to tell you everything and you have to stay silent… We are doing our job. We are lucky, we are professional footballers, but we work a lot for this. It’s not easy when people throw s*** at you when something goes wrong. To a lawyer who does not win a trial, am I going to go to his Instagram profile to tell him that he is terrible?”
Finally, he spoke a little on his experiences from his childhood – one anecdote he provided was a troubling moment from those days back in his native Brazil, which involved having to beg people for money to buy food.
“I was with a friend, all dirty after finishing a workout. There were no showers in the club. And the bus took a long time to arrive. We were hungry, but we had no money. So, we started begging on the street to eat something. It was a bit complicated, people don’t want you to bother them. Kind-hearted people helped us. But I understand the people who didn’t give us anything. It’s difficult to be stopped, we looked like kids who lived on the street. It is normal that they were a little scared.”
Barcelona are incredibly fortunate to have Raphinha, and if he can maintain his spectacular form, there is no doubt that he can be a pivot player this season.