Barcelona forward Raphinha ignored club rivalries when naming the Real Madrid duo of Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé as contenders to lift this year's Ballon d'Or.
The Brazilian's Barcelona teammates Lamine Yamal and Pedri were also name-checked alongside Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah, although Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembélé, arguably the standout candidate, was ignored.
Raphinha has done nothing to harm his own chances of winning an award which is dolled out to the best player on the planet each season by racking up a staggering haul of 32 goals and 22 assists across all competitions this term. The rejuvenated forward briefly thought he had fired Barcelona into the Champions League final with a record-equalling strike against Inter Milan only to be undone by the late heroics of Francesco Acerbi and Davide Frattesi.
Despite the club's dramatic European exit, Barcelona are still on track to win every available domestic title this season and—according to Raphinha at least—boast at least two other favorites for the Ballon d'Or.
"Ballon d'Or?" Raphinha repeated to himself when quizzed by reporters on his leading contenders for the award. "Lamine, Salah, Mbappé too. Pedri, for me, one of the best in the world. Vinícius, for me, is always a candidate, even if his numbers are slightly below last year."
