Raphinha's brilliance at Barcelona has stopped being a story about a hot start or a purple patch. The numbers now tell a bigger tale: the Brazilian has reached a level that ranks him among the most influential of his countrymen ever to wear the Catalan shirt.
His two goals against Feyenoord on the opening night of Barcelona's Champions League campaign drew him level with his idol Neymar's European tally for the club. That takes him closer to an elite group of Brazilians who lit up Barcelona, chief among them Evaristo, Romário, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Neymar.
According to "Sport", Raphinha arrived four years ago without the great fanfare that greeted some of his compatriots. Through hard work, professionalism, determination, quality and a knack for overcoming setbacks, he won over the fans and turned himself into one of the side's most important players.
Hans Flick has been central to that transformation. The German found the best way to unlock the player's abilities, pushing him season after season towards fresh challenges, and Raphinha embraced every one of them and turned it into a strength.
An exceptional start
Raphinha is enjoying a historic start to the campaign. Reinvented as an out-and-out striker, he has scored 8 goals in his first 5 official matches, 6 in La Liga and two in the Champions League, all while wearing the captain's armband.
The Brazilian has proved he can lead the line with real efficiency, just as Barcelona needed someone to cover the absence of Robert Lewandowski and the collapse of the Julián Álvarez deal.
Such form has made Raphinha one of the most decisive forwards in Europe. He has adapted to a new role without losing an ounce of his usual threat or influence.
The Champions League is his stage
Feyenoord's stadium hosted one of Raphinha's finest displays of the season. He scored twice on a rainy night and produced a performance to remember.
The brace mattered for more than the quality of the two finishes. It carried historic weight, lifting Raphinha into the top 10 Brazilian scorers in Champions League history and pulling him level with Neymar's numbers for Barcelona in the competition.
Across 34 European matches in a Barcelona shirt, Raphinha has scored 21 goals and provided 18 assists, for 39 direct goal contributions.
Neymar, over the four seasons he spent at Barcelona between 2013-2014 and 2016-2017, scored 21 goals and set up 19 in 40 Champions League matches, a total of 40 goal contributions.
The striking part is that Raphinha reached his numbers in fewer minutes. He played 2,610 minutes in the Champions League against Neymar's 3,408, which gives him the better strike rate.
Neymar still holds one important edge. He lifted the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, the season the team completed a historic treble under Luis Enrique.
Neymar: a special idol
Ronaldinho Gaúcho was Raphinha's boyhood idol, not least because the former Barcelona star is friends with the player's father. Neymar, though, came to hold a special place in the current forward's heart.
Raphinha has always seen Neymar as one of the greatest talents modern Brazil has produced. Playing together for the national team strengthened the bond, and it grew into a strong friendship off the pitch too.
Last May, when Carlo Ancelotti named Brazil's World Cup squad, Raphinha and his wife Natália were among the first to reach out to Neymar at Santos and congratulate him on his return to the fold.
That is why matching Neymar's Barcelona numbers in the Champions League carries a special flavour for Raphinha. It moves him a step closer to the goal he set himself the day he arrived: to carve his name into Barcelona's history.
Every sign suggests the story will not end here. Barcelona have already started weighing up an improved and extended contract for Raphinha, a move that reflects just how far he has climbed within the team.