Topics: Football, Ballon d'Or, Raphinha, Diego Simeone, Barcelona, Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal
Diego Simeone has claimed that a 'disrespected' star deserved to win this year's Ballon D'Or ahead of Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele claimed the prestigious award in September after a hugely successful treble-winning campaign with PSG.
The Frenchman was the club's standout attacker throughout the season, scoring 35 goals and registering 16 assists in all competitions.
His impact was further recognised as he claimed both the Champions League Player of the Season award and the Ligue 1 equivalent.
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However, not everyone was convinced that Dembele should have been crowned the world's best.
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal was forced to settle for second place, despite a remarkable season in which he scored 18 goals and provided 25 assists as the Catalan side won a domestic treble.
Now Atletico Madrid boss Simeone has entered the debate.
And the Argentinian believes the award should not have gone to Dembele or Yamal, but Raphinha, who finished fifth in the rankings.
The Brazilian winger was Barcelona's most productive attacker last year, finishing the campaign with 34 goals and 26 assists in all competitions.
Raphinha has endured a mixed start to the current season, missing two months with a hamstring injury before returning in late November.
But on Tuesday night against Atletico Madrid, he delivered a reminder of his quality, captaining Barcelona and scoring the equaliser in a 3-1 victory.
His performance drew praise from Atletico boss Simeone in his post-match press conference.
He said: "Raphinha is an incredible player.
"He can play everywhere.
"As a winger, as a midfielder, as a striker, or even as a wing back. He can score, can create, he presses and runs.
"I don’t know how he didn’t win the Ballon d’Or. For me, I would choose him always."
Simeone is not the only figure in football to feel Raphinha was hard done by.
Former PSG and Brazil star Neymar wrote on Instagram: “Raphinha at 5 is too much teasing.”
Raphinha initially downplayed his ambitions, insisting before the ceremony that just being nominated was 'a victory'.
But in the months since, he has voiced his frustrations at his ranking.
He told GQ Hype, via COPE: “When you give yourself so much, work every day and feel like you had an amazing season, you naturally expect to be among the best.
"Finishing fifth was an honour, of course, but my expectations were higher.”
He reiterated that stance ahead of Barcelona's recent trip to face Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League.
“I deserved much more," he continued.
"I felt undervalued, yes. As a team, I missed out on the Champions League.
"I don’t control individual awards. I had a spectacular season, and for me, that’s enough."
Although Raphinha is unlikely to match the same output as last season, Barcelona currently sit top of La Liga and are among the favourites to win the Champions League.
If he achieves success with the Catalan giants and Brazil win next summer's World Cup, Raphinha will almost certainty be one of the contenders for next year's Ballon D'Or.
