Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has strongly criticized the decision to leave Raphinha out of FIFA’s Best XI this year, calling it a “joke.”
Raphinha, 29, had an outstanding season, scoring 34 goals and providing 26 assists across all competitions. His contributions helped Barcelona win LaLiga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Supercopa, while also reaching their first Champions League semifinal since 2019.
Despite this, Raphinha was not included in FIFA’s Best XI announced last Tuesday. Instead, players like Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembélé, Cole Palmer, and Jude Bellingham were selected ahead of him.
Flick expressed his frustration unprompted during a press conference before Barcelona’s LaLiga match against Villarreal. “This FIFA Best XI players is a joke, really a joke. When I see there is no Raphinha in the side, it’s unbelievable,” he said.
The Best XI is chosen by national team coaches, captains, journalists, and fans. Other players included in the lineup were Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Willian Pacho, Virgil van Dijk, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, and Pedri.
Raphinha received only 12 points in the vote, fewer than other notable omissions like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé.
Flick continued, “Raphinha was the player in this team with the greatest influence. In the Champions League, he had 22 goal contributions, the best in the Champions League.
When you see the matches he played, how many goals he scored, the assists he had, it’s unbelievable. This is really not fair to him. For me, it’s a joke. I can’t believe it because after the season he had, he deserved it. It’s unbelievable.”
Raphinha has missed nine games this season due to injury but returned in late November, scoring three goals in his last four starts. He is set to lead Barcelona’s attack against third-place Villarreal on Sunday.
However, Flick confirmed that midfielder Pedri will miss the match due to a hamstring injury. “Pedri’s not available. I am not happy about this, but it’s part of football. He’s injured, but I think for the next game [against Espanyol] he’s ready,” Flick said. He added that risking Pedri now could lead to a longer absence.
The match against Villarreal is Barcelona’s last game of 2025 before the LaLiga break in January. Villarreal is in excellent form, having won their last six league games and climbing to third place, just four points behind second-place Real Madrid with two games in hand.
Flick praised Villarreal’s coach Marcelino García Toral and the team’s quality, saying, “Every game is the most important game, every game is difficult.
We are playing against an important team, a lot of quality, direct play, I love to see how they play football. Congrats to the coach. It’s an amazing team. They improve a lot the last years, they did it really good.”
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