A former Arsenal star and France football icon, Thierry Henry, has expressed his belief that Barcelona’s Raphinha is worth mentioning as a top contender for the 2025 Ballon d’Or award.
Naija News understands that Raphinha netted two goals against Benfica on Tuesday evening, contributing to their victory in the second leg of the Champions League last-16 match held in Spain.
In the first leg, the Brazilian winger had already made an impact by scoring the sole goal of the match.
During a discussion at the CBS Sports studios, Henry praised Raphinha’s exceptional abilities, placing him above Mohamed Salah of Liverpool and Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid in his assessment.
He said: “Raphinha is leading the Ballon d’Or race.
“Raphinha has been amazing in the Champions League, scoring a lot of goals with just one penalty.
“A complete player is someone who presses, defends, and helps the full-back defend. Raphinha has it all.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Arne Slotm has expressed disappointment following his team’s elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, March 11.
Arne Slot believes that PSG knocked out Liverpool from the Champions League because his side “ran out of luck” despite an impressive performance.
The Reds had secured a narrow 1-0 victory in the first leg at Parc des Princes, where they showed resilience against PSG’s attacking dominance.
However, the second leg at Anfield saw PSG draw level on aggregate thanks to a 12th-minute goal from Ousmane Dembele, which put Liverpool under pressure.
The visitors controlled much of the match, but it was the Liverpool side that created numerous opportunities, showing offensive promise. Tragically for them, the game ultimately remained 1-0 at the final whistle, leading to a tense penalty shootout.
In the shootout, Liverpool faltered as both Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones missed their chances from the spot, while PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma rose to the occasion, saving their attempts. PSG converted all of their four penalties, sealing a decisive 4-1 victory in the shootout.
“During the first 20 to 25 minutes, we were all over them, creating chance after chance, and it felt like we could take control of the game,” Arne Slot said during an interview with Amazon Prime.
“But to find ourselves 1-0 down was frustrating. The margins were incredibly narrow, perhaps we just ran out of luck tonight.”
Reflecting on the overall performance, Slot added, “After 90 minutes, it felt like we deserved more than just being a goal down. I was waiting for our breakthrough, and we had several opportunities to turn the tide.”
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