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Every September, football fans go through the same ritual. For an entire year, we complain that the Ballon d’Or has lost its credibility. We argue that the voting system is flawed, that individual brilliance is being weighed against team success in inconsistent ways, and that the award no longer represents what it is supposed to represent. Then September arrives, the nominations are announced, and suddenly we forget every complaint we made over the previous twelve months. We

There was a time when Raphinha’s place at Barcelona was constantly debated. Was he consistent enough? Could he deliver in the biggest moments? Was he really capable of being one of the faces of this team? Seven La Liga games into the season, those questions are becoming increasingly difficult to ask. Raphinha has turned the beginning of this campaign into a personal statement. 12 goals in his first seven league appearances, including two hat-tricks and three braces, have put