Raphinha’s breakout Champions League campaign with Barcelona has drawn comparisons to some of the greats who played in this prestigious competition, including Cristiano Ronaldo, the competition’s all-time top scorer. While both the players instill different play-styles, Ronaldo is known for his goal-scoring, and Raphinha for his creativity and explosive wing play. Both are of significant importance for their respective UCL runs. This brief comparison looks at how Raphinha’s performances this season go up against Ronaldo’s so-called legendary campaign in the 2015-16 season.
Ronaldo’s 2015-2016 UCL Campagin
This season was Ronaldo’s one of the best in the UEFA Champions League. This year, Ronaldo was given the tag of “Mr. Champions League” because of his outstanding campaign. Ronaldo accumulated 16 goals and 3 assists in the campaign and also won the UEFA Champions League that season.
Ronaldo started his campaign with a hat-trick against Shakhtar Donetsk including a penalty and two rebounds after saved shots. He scored two goals in matchday 2 against Malmö, first with a sharp finish and the second with a tap-in inside the area. On matchday 3, he scored 0 goals against Paris Saint-Germain. At the Bernabeu, on matchday 4 Ronaldo scored the winner against Paris Saint-Germain. He added two more goals against Shakhtar Donetsk, one from a header and another from a tap-in on matchday 5. On matchday 6, Ronaldo scored four past Malmö, one was from outside the box, the second was another goal from the rebound, the third accidentally deflected in, and the fourth was a cool finish after a through ball.
In the first leg of a Round of 16 tie against Roma, Ronaldo opened the scoring with a brilliant solo run and a deflected finish. In the second leg, he scored with a confident low shot. In the quarter-final first-leg, he was unable to score against Wolfsburg where Madrid lost 3-0. In the second leg, Ronaldo completed a hat trick to come back. First, he scored a header from a corner, tapped in after Dani Carvajal’s low cross, and third A low free-kick under the wall. In the semi-finals, Real Madrid went against Manchester City. Ronaldo missed the first leg due to an injury but was goalless in the second leg. Real Madrid faced their arch-rivals Atletico in the final, where again Ronaldo was goalless.
Ronaldo scored 16 goals and contributed with 3 assists, a total of 19 goal contributions.
Raphinha’s 2024-2025 UCL Campaign
Raphinha‘s time at Barcelona was far from perfect until the arrival of Hansi Flick. Fans criticized the Brazilian for the lack of goal contributions and not being “good enough” to wear the iconic 11 of Barca that the likes of Neymar had. Now he is the “New Mr. Champions League” for us. Raphinha has already provided 12 goals and 7 assists in the UEFA Champions League so far, reminding everyone he is not even the main penalty taker at FC Barcelona. This is a figure that equals Lionel Messi’s club record for most goal contributions in a single Champions League season, set during the 2011–12 campaign.
Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League campaign started with a rock-bottom loss to AS Monaco, where Raphinha was goalless. In matchday 2, Raphinha opened his goal account after scoring Barcelona’s second goal in the 34th minute against Young Boys. In the matchday 3, Raphinha netted a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory against Bayern Munich. The first came after dribbling past Neuer, and the other two were brilliant finishes from his right and left foot. Raphinha added another one with a great finish against Red Star. In the next game, he opened the scoring against Dortmund to get a significant victory.
Raphinha scored twice against Benfica away from home, including a 97th-minute winner to keep Barcelona in the top position in the League. In the Round of 16, Barcelona again met Benfica, Raphinha scored the only goal in a 1–0 away victory when Barcelona were to 10 men down. In the second leg, he netted two goals and provided an assist in a 3–1 win. In the quarter-finals, Barcelona again drew against Borussia Dortmund. Raphinha opened the scoring in a commanding 4–0 home victory. Now Barcelona are in the semi-finals facing Inter.
Over the course, Raphinha contributed to 12 goals and 7 assists, a total of 19 G/A, another fact that he is not even the main penalty taker at FC Barcelona.
Conclusion
In my opinion, the difference in opponents for both players is clearly significant. Ronaldo scored against lower-tier European side and Raphinha scored against proper powerhouses of Europe. Though there is no doubt Ronaldo is a legendary goalscorer, but his 2015-2016 journey seems to be highly overrated. If we compare the teams, Ronaldo’s journey seems a little easier than Raphinha’s. Another fact to keep in mind is Ronaldo was used a second-striker to Benzema, whereas Raphinha plays a proper explosive winger, alongside Lewandowski. Ronaldo was the main set-piece taker for his team and Raphinha isn’t. So the Brazilian deserves his due credit. Raphinha has proved himself this season and only needs to work hard to get a better status as a player. No football fan expected him to be a Balon D’ Or contender, a Brazilian who played for a Premier League club facing relegation to becoming the star of Barcelona.