'Decision is a joke' - Hansi Flick rages after 'unbelievable' Barcelona star Raphinha left out of FIFA's The Best XI

Raphinha's campaign for Barcelona bordered on the extraordinary. In domestic competition, he struck 18 goals and supplied 10 assists, earning him La Liga’s Player of the Season award and establishing him as the attacking reference point in Flick’s high-octane system. On the continental stage, his impact was just as impressive. With 13 goals and nine assists in the UEFA Champions League, Raphinha matched a long-standing benchmark set by Cristiano Ronaldo for goal contributions in a single campaign. Barcelona’s run to the semi-finals, halted only by Inter Milan, owed much to the Brazilian’s decisive moments.

The Brazilian's excellence was not confined to club football. For the Brazil national football team, he delivered at the Copa América and remained a cornerstone of World Cup qualification. Goals, assists and an unwavering work rate underlined his growing authority, turning him into a guaranteed starter for his country and a leader within the dressing room. That combination of club dominance and international reliability made the omission from the Best XI all the more bewildering.

Asked about the decision ahead of Barcelona’s trip to Villarreal, Flick delivered a blunt assessment. He argued that when influence, output and consistency were weighed properly, Raphinha’s place should have been beyond debate.

He said: "There’s something I wanted to comment on. FIFA’s Best XI is a joke. It’s unbelievable that Raphinha isn’t in it. His influence was incredible. He was the top scorer in the Champions League. It’s unbelievable. And the most important thing is his influence. It’s a joke. I can’t believe he’s not in it. After this season, he deserved it. It’s unbelievable."

However, Flick was happy with the team's success. 

"My best year with success for me, the team, the club, the fans," he said. "It’s fantastic what we’ve experienced, but that’s in the past and we have to work to repeat it. There are objectives that have not been achieved."

This was not Raphinha’s first brush with perceived injustice. Earlier omissions from global selections had already prompted a subtle but pointed response on social media, where he highlighted his goals, assists and silverware. The sense among Barcelona fans was that the winger had been undervalued once again, despite delivering a domestic treble and leading Europe’s most dangerous attack. That feeling intensified when Ballon d’Or voting placed him fifth, behind former Barcelona favourite Ousmane Dembele, teenage phenomenon Lamine Yamal, Vitinha and Mohamed Salah.

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Raphinha’s wife, Natalia Rodrigues, voiced her frustration online, questioning the logic behind the final vote and describing it as an injustice. She jokingly asked, "Is Raphinha playing basketball?" on Instagram. Natalia also wrote "they don’t even try to hide it anymore" and "but he didn’t deserve to be among the XI?" in a series of messages that have since been deleted. 

Raphinha himself struck a measured tone. Speaking after a Champions League encounter with Chelsea, he admitted disappointment but stressed that individual awards remained secondary to team success.

"I deserved much more, but these are individual awards, and collectively we missed the Champions League, that’s what we want," he said. "These aren’t things I control. People, journalists…I only control what happens on the pitch.  I did everything I could. I’ll keep trying to be better, that’s it."

FIFA’s process combined expert panels with fan ballots, each carrying equal weight. Players accrued points by position, while the winner of the Best Men’s Player award earned automatic inclusion. The system, designed to balance expertise and public opinion, has nonetheless come under scrutiny, particularly when results diverge sharply from on-field evidence.

With the final fixture of the year against Villarreal looming, Barcelona’s immediate concern is momentum rather than medals. The Catalans will resume action against Espanyol in early January before travelling to Saudi Arabia to defend the Spanish Super Cup.