From almost quitting football to Ballon d'Or hope - Raphinha's rebirth

On his 18th birthday, Raphinha sat alone in his tiny room in Florianopolis, staring at his phone. No messages. No calls. No offers. Injured and out of the Avai U20 team, he was on the verge of giving up.

Football had been his escape from the favelas of Brazil's Porto Alegre, but now it felt like a dead end. His dream was slipping away and for the first time - although by no means the last - he wondered if he was chasing something that wasn't meant for him.

Then came the voice that changed everything. His mother, always his fiercest supporter, refused to let him quit. "If you stop now," she told him, "you'll have to live with this for the rest of your life. Are you ready for that?"

That moment became his turning point. Fast forward to today, and the same player who nearly walked away from football is now at the heart of Barcelona's revival, delivering goals and defying expectations.

Raphinha's journey from Porto Alegre to Barcelona's dressing room is a story of resilience, discipline, and continuous self-improvement. His transformation into a top-level performer is not just about talent. It's about mindset, sacrifice, and an unwavering desire to succeed.

Should Barcelona somehow manage to win this inaugural season of the new-look Champions League, it will also be a personal triumph for the 28-year-old, who as recently as last summer was cast in the role of sacrificial lamb in Barcelona's attempt to bring in Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams.

He again showed his worth in Tuesday's last-16 second leg against Benfica, scoring twice to help send Barca through to the quarter-finals.

So how did Raphinha get to here?

Raphinha was raised in the relentless, grinding poverty seen across the sprawling shanty towns that litter the landscape in and around the neighbourhood of Restinga in the city of Porto Alegre.

In a neighbourhood where violence and drug trafficking are often a way of life, Raphael Dias Belloli knew from an early age that football was not just a way out - it was the only way out.

He has spoken about how he saw talented friends take the wrong path. Unlike them, he had the support of his family, especially his mother and uncle, who encouraged him to keep pushing forward with sport despite financial struggles.

His mother worked tirelessly, and his family made sacrifices to buy him football boots and pay for his transport to training sessions.

His football education was all about survival; playing barefoot against older opponents in the streets helped him develop endurance and technical skills under pressure. Both would become his most defining traits.

He was initially rejected by clubs like Internacional and Gremio because they considered him too thin and lightweight for professional football.

Despite these setbacks, the rejection fuelled his competitive spirit and obsession with proving people wrong. Eventually he got a chance at Avai, a smaller club with a solid youth system where he learnt to handle the physical side of the game before having to face the first of many crises.

A serious injury at Avai's U20 team left him sidelined and questioning his footballing future. The turning point came when his mother reminded him in no uncertain terms that giving up would mean having to find a 'proper' job.

From that moment, his commitment to discipline and sacrifice became absolute, he started seeing football not just as a passion but his only way to a better life.

How Europe came calling and his rapid rise

Unlike many Brazilian stars who first shine at major domestic clubs, Raphinha had to prove himself in Europe from the bottom up.

In Portugal, first with Vitoria Guimaraes and then Sporting, he showed his ability to beat defenders and create chances, while at Rennes he proved he could be a game changer.

He was catching the eyes of the bigger clubs and, fortunately for him, he attracted the attention of the hardest of taskmasters that is Marcelo Bielsa, who took him to Leeds and rapidly accelerated his development albeit via a harsh, unforgiving regime.

It was there that he developed an outstanding physical endurance, which made his explosive playing style sustainable, improved his off-the-ball movement and pressing intensity and learned to move intelligently without the ball.

He also caught the attention of Barcelona who signed him on a five-year contract for a reported initial fee of £50m, potentially rising to £55 million in add-ons.

Another club, another struggle

Raphinha struggled initially playing for an elite club.

Coach Xavi saw him more as a squad member than as an undisputed starter and even when he started to be a regular in the line up, he rarely played full games.

Barcelona's inability to buy without selling first due to financial issues put him firmly in the frame as the club's biggest playing asset and the player most likely to be sold - especially while Barcelona were trying to sign Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams last summer.

Focus was also elsewhere with the precocious and outrageously talented Lamine Yamal the centre of everyone's attention and effectively undroppable.

In two seasons at the club, Raphinha was used off the bench 11 times and started just 42 times out of a possible 76.

The message coming out of Barcelona was simple. "We don't want to lose you, but we think you ought to go," seemed to be the gist of it.

Raphinha had other ideas, although it was a close-run thing.

"There were several moments, not just one [when I considered leaving]," he admits now.

"There was a lot of self-doubt. I have a nasty habit of criticising myself heavily, so to speak, so that pressure made me think about leaving."

The role of Hansi Flick

Hansi Flick was appointed Barcelona head coach in May 2024

The dismissal of manager Xavi in May and subsequent appointment of Hansi Flick changed everything.

The German coach gave him a bigger role and allowed him to play with confidence. He is now a player reborn.

Flick focused his work on the importance of making smarter decisions, knowing when to dribble, when to pass. The more direct style suited him too.

These days he loses the ball less and is more efficient and composed in front of goal. His current stats are remarkable.

He has 26 goals and 19 assists in 40 games and has scored in every match he has played in the Champions League this season. He has established himself as one of Barcelona's key players and a genuine Ballon d'Or contender.

He has also been voted as one of the team captains, receiving the fourth-highest tally of votes behind Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong. When they were injured he became the club's outright skipper.

Lamine Yamal, who also played a starring role in Tuesday's win over Benfica, has publicly said Raphinha is his main mentor in the squad.

That complements well with the fact that with the Brazilian national team he is the undisputed number one leader in the group.

His last-minute winner in the club's pulsating 4-5 group stage win in Benfica was a key moment in his and the club's season.

His celebration, with Barca's entire bench running towards him in the pouring rain, became a symbolic image of the team's unity and cemented his status as a dressing room leader.

He is clearly one of the most-respected voices in the dressing room, not overly vocal, but rather a leader by example, not just in matches but just as importantly in training.

Raphinha knows just how hard it has been for him to get where he is today, just how fickle footballing fate can be and that it is primarily during your most successful times that you find yourself closest to failure.

To that end he leaves nothing to chance. He has spoken openly about how he avoids distractions outside football.

He has no interest in nightlife or partying, preferring to spend time at home with his family or focusing on training. It is this discipline that has been key to raising him to his physical and mental peak.

And now he has reached this point, there is no stopping him and if Barcelona go far in the Champions League, nobody should argue his right to be considered one of the top players in the world.