Why Thierry Henry thinks there are better candidates than Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane

Thierry Henry supports Raphinha’s claim to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or, largely due to his goal-scoring in the Champions League.

Brazil International scored two hits last night in the second inning of Barca’s 3-1 defeat of Benfica, putting his stats to 11 points in the European elite club match.

The Catalans’ 4-1 overall victory means they advance to the quarterfinals of Dortmund or Lille.

Henry believes that Raphinha is already ahead of Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane in the biggest individual awards competition in the competition.

“Raphinha advances with a conical d’Or.”

Thierry Henry believes that Barcelona’s star is an early favorite to receive prestigious awards. pic.twitter.com/6t6v4meq0j

– CBS Sports golazo⚽️ (@cbssportsgolazo) March 11, 2025

Henry supports “full” raphinha

“He [Raphinha] Because of what he did in the Champions League, he was there. He has 11 goals in the Champions League.

“Mo Salah is its great contender and Harry Kane is the contender.

“Raphinha has only one fine. I’m not saying Kane shouldn’t be fined. [stats] Mo Salah has a season in the Premier League and we will never see each other again.

“But I mean, if a person has the same goal as your player scores, then that’s not bad, that’s great.

“He is outside of defending, when people talk about completeness, as a forward, you also have to know how to put pressure on and press good pressure, and Raphinha has it all.”

Flip Henry’s point of view

Raphinha’s role in La Liga in Barcelona also played a key role, although they maintained their level on Real Madrid’s points and were one ahead of Atletico Madrid.

Blaugrana Boss Hansi Flick talked last week about the importance of Raphinha to his team.

The German said: “Raphinha for Ballon d’Or? He is the candidate, yes. Of course, if he performs well this season, he may have a chance.

“He always helps us a lot and if you see his goal, his goal will show you how hungry he is. You will see, it’s great to see how focused he is. I’m happy with his level.”

The highest scorer in the Champions League this season:

• 11 Rafenha (Barcelona)
• 10 Serhou Guirassy (Dortmund Borussia), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
• 9 Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
• 8 Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
• 7 Julian Alvarez (Atlanta Madrid), Ousmane Dembele (St. Germain Paris), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica), Vinicius JR (Real Madrid)