Bongani Zungu, former teammate of Raphinha, has given his verdict on the Brazilian’s chances of winning the 2025 Mens Ballon d’Or.
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After two seasons in which he perhaps underperformed for Barcelona, the Porto Alegre native is now enjoying an exceptional campaign for the Blaugrana, having registered 28 goals and 22 assists. However, before becoming one of world football's most prolific attackers, the forward was cutting his teeth in Portugal alongside Zungu at Vitoria Guimaraes.
The two players spent the 2016/17 campaign playing together, sharing the pitch a total of 24 times overall, but it seems that was enough to foster a fondness for each other that endures to this day.
With his former teammate now a frontrunner for the Golden Ball title, Zungu claims he hopes the Brazilian can lift the trophy—and believes the numbers back him up.
“Numbers don’t lie and his numbers are up there and I think if he can stay injury-free he can score more and I hope for him, obviously as an ex-teammate to see him doing such amazing things, that he can do it,” the AmaZulu holding midfielder told Soccer Laduma.
When quizzed on how Raphinha has improved since they first shared a dressing room almost a decade ago, the 32-year-old added:
“For me, his play hasn’t really changed much but he can score now, you know, he’s deadly.
“You know, obviously, to score a goal there are a lot of things you need to do such as finding the right space and time and all those things but now he knows when to score and he’s got the technique to shoot and to pass.
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“What I love about him now, is that he has the hunger (to score). He’s very aggressive in his play and you can’t just bully him. Back then at Guimaraes, he was young, he was shy, there was potential but now he’s improved a lot and now he’s become a beast.”
