Raphinha focused on Barcelona not Ballon d'Or after dominant European start

Raphinha pushed away questions about his exclusion from the Ballon d'Or shortlist to focus on Barcelona's dominant Champions League performance against Feyenoord.

Hansi Flick's side opened their European campaign with a 5-1 thrashing of the Eredivisie team on Wednesday at Camp Nou.

Raphinha was twice on target, along with goals for Karim Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus, while Lamine Yamal set up two and scored another.

The Brazilian's performance, taking his tally to eight goals in five games across all competitions, offered a timely reminder of his quality after he was snubbed for the world's top individual award.

"I'm not talking about the Ballon d'Or. I'm talking about Barcelona, who are having a spectacular season," Raphinha responded on Movistar+ when questioned on the Ballon d'Or.

"I'm working to score goals."

Jesus' goal brings assurances that Flick can rely on an out-and-out striker, should he choose to move Raphinha to the flanks in future weeks.

But any change to a fully firing Barcelona line-up seems unlikely, given they have scored 22 goals in five games so far this season.

Yamal has played a central role in that strong attacking showing, but that was to be expected in this competition.

He now has 23 goal involvements in the Champions League (12 goals, 11 assists); the outright most by a teenager in the competition's history, overtaking Kylian Mbappe's 20.

"I know Lamine because he tends to go quiet when things aren't going well," Raphinha said of his team-mate. "I tried to encourage him and tell him he was going to score so he wouldn't lose focus. 

"In the end, he managed to score, and I was very happy for him. He needed that goal. That's how a winning team is made, when everyone is happy for each other."

Barcelona supporters may already be dreaming of a successful LaLiga title defence and deep run in Europe, but Raphinha is keen to just keep delivering for them.

"The truth is, we always have to show our fans near-perfect football," he added. "We've been playing very well from the start. We could have scored goals with the chances we had.

"In such a long season, there are many ups and downs. Starting the season like this gives us confidence.  The idea is to keep it up."