FIFA Faces Fury Over Raphinha's Shocking Omission from 2025 Best Men's World 11
The exclusion of Raphinha from the 2025 Best FIFA Men's 11 sparked controversy, particularly when Jude Bellingham secured a spot despite an underwhelming campaign. The snub was so notable that the Barcelona winger's spouse publicly criticized what she termed an "unfair decision."
Barcelona achieved an unprecedented domestic treble during the previous season—capturing La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa de España—marking a historic first for the club, with Raphinha playing an instrumental role in this achievement.
Following several underwhelming campaigns that had Barcelona's leadership considering trading Raphinha for Nico Williams after Euro 2024, the Brazilian enjoyed his finest season at age 29.
Beyond his impressive 30 goal contributions in La Liga, helping Barcelona secure just their second Spanish championship since 2019, Raphinha emerged as the Champions League's co-leading scorer—matching Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy—netting 13 goals across 14 matches while adding nine more assists.
Through a sequence of Instagram stories that were subsequently removed, Raphinha's spouse, Natalia Rodrigues, expressed her displeasure regarding his exclusion from the World 11.
After declaring it an "injustice," she mockingly questioned FIFA's World 11 announcement: "Is Raphinha a basketball player???"
Apparently, in her view, that would be the sole explanation for his omission.
"They don't even attempt to conceal it now," she wrote with disbelief. "62 G/A... yet he wasn't worthy of the XI?"
Fifth Best Player in the World
Raphinha had secured fifth place in the Ballon d'Or rankings in September, positioning him as the world's fifth-best performer last season, surpassing Cole Palmer (eighth), Pedri (11th) and Bellingham (23rd). He also claimed fifth in the individual Best FIFA Men's Player voting, significantly outperforming Palmer and Pedri, while Bellingham wasn't even considered. Yet all three earned Best FIFA Men's 11 selections over him.
The former Leeds United player received 104 mentions from the various national team captains, coaches and media representatives participating in the individual FIFA award voting. The captains from Gibraltar, Seychelles, Tonga, Uganda and Uzbekistan all ranked him first, alongside several managers—including Canada's Jesse Marsch, his former Leeds supervisor—and journalists.
Who Determined the Best FIFA Men's 11?
The Best FIFA Men's 11 differs from the FIFPro World 11 revealed in November, with the latter determined by global player votes—Raphinha was also excluded from that selection, incidentally.
The Best FIFA edition is overseen by an "expert panel," featuring 50 former players that in 2025 included Cafu, Marcel Desailly, Diego Forlán and Diego Godín.