Raphinha is no longer just a quick winger at Barcelona. He has turned into a relentless goalscoring machine. With an explosive start not seen at the Camp Nou for years, the Brazilian has placed himself on the threshold of European glory, defying the odds and the giants, closing in with steady steps on a Golden Boot that only two of his own countrymen have ever touched.
At 29, Raphinha is enjoying the finest spell of his career. He has scored 12 goals in La Liga so far, plus two in the Champions League against Feyenoord, and that leaves him second in the Golden Boot race. Only Latvia's Eidejs Okulovs sits ahead of him, having played a full half-season in the Latvian league.
None of this came from nowhere, according to a report by "Mundo Deportivo". This start has written Raphinha into Barcelona's history through the widest of doors. The only man to have bettered his goal count at the start of a season is a legend, Mariano Martin, back in 1943/1944.
The points game: why is Raphinha not top?
Twelve goals and only second place? The answer lies in the award's complicated system.
The Golden Boot does not reward the raw number of goals. It rewards them according to the strength coefficient of each league:
Two points for each goal in the five major leagues (Spain, England, Italy, Germany, France)
1.5 points for each goal in the intermediate leagues
Only one point in the lower-ranked leagues
Scandinavian and Latvian leagues also enjoy a temporary edge, because more than half of their season has already gone, while Spain's is only just getting started.
The map of rivals: surprises everywhere
Glance across the other leagues and the picture this season is full of surprises.
In Italy, Donyell Malen has emerged as one of the shocks of the campaign in a Roma shirt, with a tally of 6 goals. Over in England, Erling Haaland, who won the award in 2023 with 36 goals, tops the scoring charts with just 5 so far.
France offers a four-way tie at the top on 4 goals apiece: Ferran Torres (Paris Saint-Germain), Doumbia (Brest), Gouiri (Marseille) and Sinayoko (Paris).
Germany is madder still. Four scorers are level on the same tally: Ebn Talab (Eintracht Frankfurt), Olise (Bayern Munich), Schick (Bayer Leverkusen) and Suzuki (Freiburg). The two-time winner from 2024 and 2026, Harry Kane, has only 3 goals and props up the list.
Brazil's third dream
Hold onto this Golden Boot, and Raphinha will make history as only the third Brazilian to manage it.
Just two legends have gone before him: the phenomenon Ronaldo Nazario, in this very same Barcelona shirt, with 36 goals in 1996/1997, and the marksman Mario Jardel, who did it twice, in 1999 and 2002 with Porto and Sporting Lisbon.
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Best of all, keep up this scoring rate and Raphinha will finish the season on a phenomenal 66 goals in La Liga. That would shatter the eternal record held by Lionel Messi, whose 50 goals in 2011/2012 remain the highest figure in Golden Boot history.