'He’s A Candidate': Ex-Barcelona Star Gaizka Mendieta Names Raphinha As His Pick For France Football's Premier Award

Barcelona have been in absolutely terrific form this season as the Spanish club have been dominant in all of the competitions that they are playing in. Barcelona have already won the Spanish Super Cup, are currently at the top of the table in La Liga and have made it to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. As the team continues to perform at the highest level under coach Hansi Flick, Raphinha has been a player reformed with his fantastic performances and last minute goals to get Barcelona their wins. 

Gaizka Mendieta Names Raphinha As His Ballon D'Or Pick 

Raphinha is having his best season ever as he has 47 goal involvements in 42 matches. In these 47 goal involvements, Raphinha has scored 27 goals and provided 27 assists. Due to this former Barcelona star Gaizka Mendieta has picked the Brazilian winger for his pick to win the Ballon D'Or. 

Mendieta as he named Raphinha as his pick to win the award, stated that Raphinha is a fighter and he fights for every ball. He is a leader and the kind that Barcelona need and thus was choosing him as his pick to win the Ballon D'Or. 

Read More: FIFA Announces Record-Breaking $1 Billion Pool For Club World Cup

“For me, he’s a candidate for the Ballon d'Or for his numbers, his performance, and for being a leading captain. We saw in the match against Atletico that he fights for the last ball to score another goal. He’s the leader a team like Barça needs," said Gaizka Mendieta as he picked Raphinha as his choice to win the Ballon D'Or. 

Gaizka Mendieta's Opinion On Raphinha's Comments About Argentina

Raphinha had recently made some strong worded comments about Argentina before Brazil's match against the 2022 FIFA World Cup winners. This led to an on-field altercation between Raphinha and the Argentina players in a match that saw Brazil go down 4-1. 

Read More: UEFA Investigates Mbappe, Vini Jr., Among 4 Real Madrid Stars

According to Gaizka Mendieta, Raphinha got carried away with emotion due to the enormity of the match between Brazil and Argentina. 

“When you make certain statements, you take a risk and you can quickly walk away with your ears down. I don’t think he did it to provoke, but rather he got carried away by emotion and by what that match means for Brazil and Argentina," said Gaizka Mendieta.