On his 18th birthday, Raphinha sat alone in his tiny room in Florianopolis, staring at his phone. No messages. No calls. No offers. Injured and out of the Avai U20 team, he was on the verge of ...

Barcelona superstar Raphinha is among the leading contenders for this year’s Ballon d’Or, a development that every Leeds United fan who watched him at Elland Road could have predicted.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Robert Lewandowski is leading Barcelona in scoring. Pedri is in complete command of the midfield, and Lamine Yamal has all the trappings of a generational star.

The scorers could hardly have been further apart in the betting odds for the sides - Raphinha with two and Lamine Yamal with one in between for Barça, and Nicolás Otamendi for the Portuguese giants.

That's when Raphinha summoned a moment of magic at just the right time. The Brazilian stepped in front of a misplaced pass by Benfica's Antonio Silva, took two dribbles and fired a rocket of a ...

But it is Raphinha who has Barcelona looking like a championship-caliber team thanks to his clutch scoring. The Brazil forward has blossomed into an all-round player this campaign, shifting from ...

But it is Raphinha who has Barcelona looking like a championship-caliber team thanks to his clutch scoring.

But it is Raphinha who has Barcelona looking like a championship-caliber team thanks to his clutch scoring. The Brazil forward has blossomed into an all-round player this campaign, shifting from ...