Striker Raphinha has been involved in 19 goals for Barca in the Champions League this season, equalling Lionel Messi’s personal record in the competition. Raphinha was involved in three of the four goals Barca scored against Dortmund in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. He opened the scoring, then headed in Robert Lewandowski to double the lead. Finally, the Brazilian star crossed for Lamine Yamal to score, sealing a 4-0 victory for Barca.
A goal-line is when a player scores a goal himself, or makes the final pass for a teammate to score. Raphinha is leading the race for the 2024-2025 Champions League Golden Boot, with 12 goals. The 28-year-old striker also leads the league’s assists list, with 7 assists for teammates. In total, he has been involved in 19 goals, in just 11 games.
The situation where Raphinha opened the score in the match between Barca and Dortmund at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on the evening of April 9, 2025. Photo: Reuters
The situation where Raphinha opened the score in the match between Barca and Dortmund at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on the evening of April 9, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Messi’s best performance in the Champions League was in the 2011-2012 season, according to Transfermarkt. At that time, the Argentine superstar scored 14 goals, assisting 5 others, in 11 matches. Barca was eliminated by Chelsea in the semi-finals, preventing him from improving his performance.
The Champions League record is held by Cristiano Ronaldo, who had 22 goals in the 2013-14 season, including 17 goals and five assists in 11 games. The Portuguese superstar also scored in the final that season, helping Real Madrid beat Atletico 4-1 after extra time.
Raphinha has a maximum of 4 matches left to break Ronaldo’s record, as he needs to make his mark on 4 more goals. With current performance and the high possibility that Barca will reach the semi-finals, the possibility of Raphinha setting a new record is not small.
The record for scoring in a Champions League season also belongs to Ronaldo, with 17 goals for Real in the 2013-2014 season.
Raphinha also needs just three more assists to become the best passer in a Champions League season. That record currently belongs to Luis Figo for Barca in the 1999-2000 season, with nine assists.
If he maintains his leading position in both goals and assists until the end of the tournament, Raphinha could become the first player in Champions League history to do so.
In the 2024-2025 season, Raphinha has no rivals. The player with the second most goals is Serhou Guirassy (14), with 10 goals and 4 assists in 12 matches for Dortmund. However, the German representative is likely to be eliminated by Barca in the quarter-finals, having lost 0-4 in the first leg in Catalonia.
