Raphinha has won the EA Sports LaLiga Player of the Month award for September, the league announced on 2 October, his second monthly prize in a row after also winning in August.
The Brazilian scored seven goals and added two assists across four league appearances in September, with back-to-back hat-tricks against Racing Santander and Sevilla, plus a goal against Valencia.
He beat Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid’s Jonathan David, Rayo Vallecano’s Sergio Camello and Elche’s Fer Niño in the final vote.
Twelve league goals in seven matches
The run has lifted Raphinha to 12 goals in La Liga through the opening seven rounds, with three assists on top.
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Barcelona have taken maximum points, winning all seven matches and heading the table on 21 points. Atlético Madrid are five back on 16, with Real Madrid a further point behind.
The 29-year-old has done most of his damage from a central role. Hansi Flick moved him into a number-nine position to open the campaign, and the switch has turned a wide forward into Barcelona’s main goal source.
The Ballon d’Or jury disagreed
The individual recognition in Spain stands in sharp contrast to how he was treated in Paris. France Football left Raphinha off the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist when it was published on 8 September, a decision OneFootball described as one of the biggest surprises of the list.
Barcelona still had four nominees: Pau Cubarsí, Lamine Yamal, Rodri Hernández and Ferran Torres. Harry Kane, Mbappé and Yamal are among the names tipped as frontrunners.
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Raphinha was fifth in last year’s final ranking, behind only Ousmane Dembélé, Yamal, Vitinha and Mohamed Salah, which made this year’s omission harder to read.
Back at Sevilla after the international break
Barcelona return from the international break on Sunday with a visit to Sevilla, the same opponent Raphinha put three past in his last league outing.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or will be handed out at the London Palladium on Monday, 26 October. Raphinha will watch from outside the 30.
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