Thierry Henry Reveals the Truth About Raphinha and the Ballon d'Or: 'Salah and Kane...'

Thierry Henry will always be remembered for his charisma and magic with the ball at his feet. The historic "14" of French soccer marked an era and was able to retire with a Champions League, a World Cup, and a European Championship, among other titles, in his personal record. Since his retirement, the forward has been present in the media and sports talk shows, which allows him to give his opinion publicly.

Barça is going through a great moment, and several of the footballers in its squad are in the spotlight of the big clubs. One of them is Raphinha, who is having a season worthy of winning the Ballon d'Or. Thierry Henry, aware of the Brazilian's good moment, has been clear and has compared him with some of his best competitors.

Thierry Henry's Opinion on Raphinha and the Ballon d'Or

Thierry Henry's word carries a lot of weight in the world of soccer due to his past as a player. Everyone remembers his time at Arsenal with great admiration, and his time at Barça is not far behind. The Frenchman closely follows the stars of the culé team, and his words on CBS Sports Golazo about Raphinha and the Ballon d'Or make it clear.

"He's up there, Raphinha is ahead for me now: he has scored 11 goals in the Champions League. Mohamed Salah is a great candidate, Kane is a candidate, Dembélé depends; if you perform well in the Champions League and also win your league, obviously you'll have a chance. But Raphinha is at his best, with many goals and only one penalty."

"I'm not saying that Kane or Salah, who is having a Premier League season we won't see again, don't take penalties, but if a player scores the same goals as the rest without penalties... I'm not saying what they've done is bad, it's unbelievable, but we need to talk a bit more about Raphinha."

"What Raphinha is doing, besides defending in the press... Because you also have to know how to defend, help the full-back, and press well: there are many things you have to do, and Raphinha does them all," concluded Thierry Henry.

Raphinha, Future Ballon d'Or

Raphinha has 11 goals in the Champions League, being the Brazilian with the most goals in a single edition of the European competition. Additionally, he is having a dream season with Barça: 27 goals and 19 assists in 41 matches. With Thierry Henry's words, the campaign calling for the Ballon d'Or for the Catalan team's winger continues to grow.