Raphinha, 29, will go to her second World Cup in 2026. During the first, in 2022, after the team’s victory over South Korea in the round of 16, he even said: “I don’t see anything about the World Cup.” “I don’t like watching games, I prefer to watch movies and series,” he said. And he went further: “Why do I have to know something about Messi and Mbappé?”
Brazil left the tournament in the following game, eliminated by Croatia in the quarterfinals. Argentina and France went ahead and faced each other in a final of exceptional quality in Qatar. Messi found the net twice; Mbappé, three. After the 3-3 draw, the competition was decided on penalties.
At this point, Raphinha was already at home, watching her series.
Criticism of the statements did not change his behavior. On the contrary, the athlete seems to have developed a taste for strong phrases, generally exuding confidence, and has released a lot of them in recent years.
In the most emblematic case, interviewed and induced by former player Romário, he promised to “beat them up” before the classic between Argentina and Brazil, in the qualifiers, in March last year. “Without a doubt. Beat them up! On the field and off the field if you have to”, he shouted, before ensuring that he would score a goal.
The Argentines won 4-1 at the Monumental de Núñez, in Buenos Aires, a score that fails to illustrate the extent of the massacre seen on the field. That night – which resulted in the dismissal of coach Dorival Júnior –, Raphinha was hunted by his rivals, who attacked him at every move, at half-time and at the final whistle.
“I’m not going back on any word I said”, maintained the Brazilian, days after the defeat.
The verbiage causes even greater strangeness if one takes into account the inhibition that accompanied the gaucho throughout much of his life. He has already described his childhood version as “the shyest child in the world” and reported difficulties at the beginning of his football career because of his closed personality.
Raised in the Restinga favela, Raphinha stood out in Porto Alegre’s floodplain football, but failed to impress in tests at Internacional and Grêmio. He ended up looking for space at the Avaí base, in Florianópolis, and conquered the world.
He played for Vitória de Guimarães and Sporting, in Portugal, played for Rennes, in France, and arrived at Leeds, in England, where he blossomed under the command of an Argentine who didn’t beat him up, Marcelo Bielsa. It was during this season, in 2021, that he was called up for the first time to the Brazilian team.
He would stop training and take me aside, explaining how I should move and what decisions to make. I owe him a lot
Taken by Tite to the 2022 World Cup as a starter, he performed poorly. And the negative assessment of his performances was exacerbated by the foolishness of the phrase about Messi and Mbappé.
Since then, however, he has established himself as one of Barcelona’s main names and one of football’s greatest forwards. In the prestigious Ballon d’Or, awarded by France Football magazine to the best player on the planet, he came in fifth place – behind Dembélé, Yamal, Vitinha and Salah. And he thought it was absurd.
“I was upset. I expected to be at least in the top three. I would have placed first,” he said, with unshakable ease. “For the titles I won, for the numbers I achieved and for everything I did, I think I deserved to win.”
The feeling is carried forward to the World Cup. Teammates at Barcelona with several athletes from the Spanish team, such as Gavi, Olmo and Yamal, from the French team, Koundé, and from the English team, Rashford, he hears jokes about which team will be the world champion.
“I let them talk to themselves. I give them confidence. Then, when we meet at the World Cup, we will be able to talk about the subject”, he smiled.
