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Topics: Thierry Henry, CBS Sports, Football, Raphinha, Barcelona, Ballon d'Or
Thierry Henry stunned the CBS Sports panel with his new favourite to win the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
Last night's Champions League action saw Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain advance to the quarter-finals following their respective victories over Benfica, Feyenoord and Liverpool.
Not to mention Barcelona, who beat Benfica 4-1 on aggregate to book their spot in the next round of the competition.
The Catalan giants entered Tuesday's second-leg at the Camp Nou with a one-goal advantage following last week's victory in Portugal.
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And they doubled their lead on aggregate when Raphinha put his side ahead on the night.
He scored another as Barca ran out 3-1 winners (4-1 on aggregate).
Raphinha inspired his team to victory over Benfica and made Champions League history as he set a new record for the most goals scored by a Brazilian in a single Champions League campaign with 11.
The Brazilian forward has 27 goals in all competitions to his name this season as he enjoys a stunning term.
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And Henry believes Raphinha is ahead of the likes of Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane for the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
"Raphinha is ahead for me now, he is ahead because of what he is doing in the Champions League," he said on CBS Sports.
"He has 11 goals in the Champions League. Mo Salah is a great contender for it, Kane is a contender and [Ousmane] Dembele.
"It depends if you perform in the Champions League, on top of winning your league. Raphinha is on a lot of goals and with only one penalty."
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Henry argued: "I am not saying that Kane and Salah should not be having penalties, Mo Salah is having a season in the Premier League that we will never see again.
"I am saying that if a guy has virtually the same amount of goals as you guys scored, without penalties, I am not going to say that is bad what you did - it is outstanding - but this guy I have to talk a bit more about him.
"Raphinha, when people talk about being complete as a striker you need to know about putting on pressure also and defend, and help your full back. And he has it all."
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Raphinha, 28, joined Barca from Leeds United in the summer of 2022. He bagged 10 goals across all competitions in his first two seasons.
In terms of goals, he's enjoying the best season of his career.