‘He does it all’ – Thierry Henry claims Barcelona star is ahead of Mo Salah in Ballon d’Or race | OneFootball

Former Barcelona star Thierry Henry has this week backed a current member of the Blaugrana’s attacking ranks to take home this year’s Ballon d’Or.

The player in question? Raphinha.

Wide-man Raphinha, for his part, is of course fresh off another outing to remember on the continent on Tuesday night.

Afforded a starting berth in Barcelona’s Champions League Last-16 showdown with Benfica, the Brazilian proved himself decisive, playing a direct hand in all three of the Catalans’ goals en route to a 3-1 triumph.

As much kept alive what has been nothing short of a historic campaign on Raphinha’s part, to the tune of 27 goals and 19 assists across all competitions.

Such exploits have given rise to mounting calls for the Barca standout to be included in the conversation for the next Ballon d’Or award.

And though Liverpool star Mohamed Salah remains the favourite in the eyes of most, of the opinion that Raphinha now boasts the edge is the aforementioned Thierry Henry.

Speaking as part of his punditry role on CBS Sports on Tuesday night, legendary frontman Henry explained:

“He’s up there. Raphinha is ahead for me now. He’s scored 11 goals in the Champions League. Mo Salah is a great candidate, Kane is a candidate, Dembélé depends… If you do well in the Champions League and also win your league, obviously you’ll have a chance. But Raphinha is at his best, with many goals and only one penalty. I’m not saying that Kane or Salah, who is having a season in the Premier League that we won’t see again, don’t take penalties, but if a player scores the same goals as the rest without penalties… I’m not saying what they’ve done is bad, it’s incredible, but we have to talk a little more about him. What Raphinha is doing, in addition to defending in pressure… Because when you have a complete striker you also have to know how to press, defend, help the full-back and press well. There are many things you have to do and Raphinha does them all.”

Conor Laird – GSFN