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Wayne Rooney surprised by Raphinha's place in the Ballon d'Or rankings!

 Foot Africa

Foot Africa

·24 September 2025

Wayne Rooney surprised by Raphinha's place in the Ballon d'Or rankings!

Wayne Rooney surprised by Raphinha's place in the Ballon d'Or rankings!

Everyone knows that Raphinha was wronged in the final ranking.

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While Ousmane Dembélé's Ballon d'Or win was met with acceptance, it was the finer details of the voting that have ignited controversy among football experts.

The most vocal critic, Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, expressed profound bafflement at Raphinha's fifth-place finish.

Is this a joke, seriously? How can Raphinha be fifth while Vitinha is third? Raphinha led his team in crucial moments, played with passion and heart, and gave us magical nights. If that's not worthy of the Ballon d'Or, then what is? In my opinion, he should be number one.

Wayne Rooney said.

Rooney contended that the Brazilian was the true catalyst for Barcelona's success and expressed dismay at his ranking below Vitinha. The former England captain went so far as to question Lamine Yamal's ascent in the rankings and suggested that Raphinha may need to seek a transfer to a club that would better recognize his pivotal contributions.

How can Barcelona fans promote Yamal when Raphinha is clearly the better candidate? Honestly, I think he needs to change clubs and find a team where the fans will respect him and not undervalue him just because he's not Spanish.

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