Raphinha keeps up unstoppable scoring run for Barcelona

Unstoppable form

Barcelona's Brazilian forward Raphinha is continuing his impressive scoring streak this season. On Wednesday, September 16, in a La Liga match against Racing Santander, he scored twice, taking his season tally to ten goals, according to sources aggregated by Yahoo Sports. João Cancelo also scored twice with long-range strikes in the same game, while some reports mention a 2-0 half-time score following a VAR-awarded penalty — the exact final scoreline varies between sources.

Earlier, in the Champions League opener against Feyenoord (a 5-1 win, reported around September 9-10), Raphinha scored twice, including a spectacular solo effort in the third minute in which he beat two defenders before finishing calmly. The BBC and The Athletic (The New York Times) say these were his seventh and eighth goals in five matches this season, while The Guardian puts the tally at eight goals in six outings — sources differ slightly on the number of matches. Barca Universal adds that Raphinha has scored in every game this season except the win over Levante.

From winger to centre-forward

The scoring run follows head coach Hansi Flick's decision to move Raphinha from the left wing to a central striker role, after Barcelona lost Robert Lewandowski and sold Ferran Torres over the summer, and failed to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid. The Athletic and Barca Universal compare the shift to Ousmane Dembele's transformation at Paris Saint-Germain, which culminated in the 2025 Ballon d'Or. Last season Raphinha scored 34 goals, though sources disagree on his assist tally — The Athletic cites 26, while Barca Universal reports 22 assists across 57 appearances.

Ballon d'Or snub and contract talks

Earlier this week, the 30-man shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d'Or was announced without Raphinha's name — nor that of his teammate Pedri. Flick called the omission surprising, saying the player is "far too good" not to be on the list. Meanwhile, according to Spanish-language sources aggregated by Yahoo Sports, Barcelona have opened talks with Raphinha over a new contract; his current deal runs until 2028, and the new one could extend it to 2029, making him one of the club's highest-paid players.