Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Sevilla head coach Luis Garcia says “it’s a joke” that Barcelona star Raphinha has not been nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Raphinha scored a hat-trick against Sevilla on Saturday, helping Barcelona to a comeback 3-1 win that maintained their 100% start to the season.
The Brazilian has played primarily as a centre-forward for Barcelona this term following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.
He has made a truly incredible start to 2026-27, having been involved in 15 LaLiga goals (12 goals, three assists) in the first seven games of the season, a record in the 21st century (alongside Karim Benzema in 2021-22 for Real Madrid).
Raphinha is also the first player to score at least three goals in two consecutive LaLiga games, having also netted a hat-trick against Racing Santander in midweek – since Antoine Griezmann in February 2018.
The Ballon d’Or nominations are based on the players’ form for last season, but Raphinha was not included in the 30-man shortlist for the award.
“It’s a joke that he’s not even nominated for the Ballon d’Or,” Garcia said in the post-game news conference.
“He is a match-winner; that’s why I don’t believe in these prizes. He does everything.”
Raphinha helped Barcelona win back-to-back LaLiga title last term, though his campaign was disrupted by injury.
He scored 21 goals and provided seven assists across all competitions in 33 matches, with only Lamine Yamal (41) and Fermin Lopez (30) having more goal involvements for Barcelona, though they both played over 40 matches each.
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