Neymar has criticised the final ranking of the men’s Ballon d’Or and described Raphinha’s fifth-place finish as a “joke” after the Brazilian’s record-breaking Champions League campaign.
Ousmane Dembele won the Ballon d’Or for the first time after leading Paris Saint-Germain to glory in the Champions League.
The France forward finished ahead of Barcelona and Spain’s Lamine Yamal, with PSG midfielder Vitinha third, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah fourth and Barcelona’s Raphinha rounding out the top five.
The Brazil forward had the most goal involvements in last season’s Champions League, finishing the competition with 13 goals and eight assists as Barcelona reached the semi-finals.
It surpassed Lionel Messi’s record from the 2011-12 season, while Raphinha also scored 18 goals as Barcelona won the LaLiga title, and Neymar expressed disappointment that he did not finish higher in the standings.
Replying to a post on Instagram, Neymar commented: “Raphinha in 5th is too much of a joke.”
Dembele was signed by Barcelona in response to PSG’s world-record signing of Neymar in 2017, but the France international struggled after his move.
He was transformed after arriving at PSG in 2023, with manager Luis Enrique helping to turn him into a complete forward who offered defensive work as well as goals.
He scored 35 goals and made 14 assists in all competitions last season and was the top scorer in Ligue 1 as PSG won the title.
It was the club’s Champions League triumph, though, that gave Dembele the edge over Yamal to win the Ballon d’Or, with Dembele providing two assists as the French side routed Inter 5-0 in the final.
He was congratulated by former Barcelona team-mate and record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who replied to Dembele’s post on Instagram with the comment: “Grande Ous. Congratulations, I am very happy for you. You deserve it.”
