FC Barcelona head coach, Hansi Flick
FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick said on Saturday that FIFA’s The Best Men’s XI seems like a ‘joke’ to him given the omission of his winger Raphinha.
The Brazilian had a fantastic 2024/2025 season, which saw him scoop a domestic treble with the Catalans while also providing the most combined goals and assists in the Champions League during a run to the semifinals ended by eventual runner-up Inter Milan.
This led to many Culers and others in the football world tipping the 29-year-old to win the Ballon d’Or. And while they might have accepted ex-Barca star and Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele taking home the top prize, while Lamine Yamal finished second, Raphinha’s fifth ranking was widely scoffed at.
At FIFA’s The Best awards, Raphinha didn’t make the top three headed by Dembele as Lamine and Kylian Mbappe were second and third respectively.
But what is of even more confusion to Raphinha’s backers is that he didn’t even make a best XI at the awards ceremony.
At his prematch press conference to preview Sunday’s away trip to Villarreal, Flick was asked about this and said: “The FIFA eleven seemed to me a joke in bad taste when I saw that Raphinha was not there.”
“When you see the goals he scored, the assists, the influence he has on the team. It’s very unfair to him. I can’t believe he’s not here,” the German added.
Despite this, Flick still believes that 2025 was “my best year” with “success for me, the team, the club, the fans”.
“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,” Flick also said.
Pedri will not return for FC Barcelona against Villarreal
Elsewhere, Flick confirmed that Pedri will not feature in La Ceramica as he continues his recovery.
“He won’t be available. I don’t like it and I’m not happy. He will be there for the derby, I think. It’s a problem in the quadriceps. The risk is high, he could play but there would be a risk and could then be out for two months. He’s undergoing treatment. We’ve decided that we do not want to take risks. We’ll need him against Espanyol and in the Super Cup,” Flick stated.
With Villarreal the last game of the year, FC Barcelona will then return to action by taking on Espanyol away on January 3 before heading to Saudi Arabia to defend its Spanish Super Cup crown.
