Sevilla coach Luis Garcia says it’s “a joke” that Barcelona star Rafinha has not been nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Rafinha scored a hat-trick against Sevilla on Saturday to help Barcelona come back from behind 3-1 to maintain a 100% start to the season.
The Brazilian has primarily played as a center forward at Barcelona this season following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.
He has made an incredible start to the 2026-27 season, having been involved in 15 La Liga goals (12 goals, 3 assists) in the first 7 games of the season, setting a 21st century record (together with Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema in 2021-22).
Rafinha is also the first player since Antoine Griezmann in February 2018 to score at least three goals in two consecutive La Liga games, and he also scored a hat-trick against Racing Santander in midweek.
Nominations for the Ballon d’Or are based on a player’s performance last season, but Rafinha did not make the 30-man shortlist for the award.
“It’s a joke that he wasn’t even nominated for the Ballon d’Or,” Garcia said at the post-match press conference.
“He’s a game-winner; that’s why I don’t believe in these awards. He does everything.”
Raphinha helped Barcelona win back-to-back La Liga titles last season, although his season was interrupted by injury.
He has scored 21 goals and provided 7 assists in 33 games, second only to Lamine Yamar (41 games) and Fermin Lopez (30 games) who have more goalscoring involvement for Barcelona, although they have both played more than 40 games.