Raphinha scores hat-trick in 100th appearance for Barca
Brazilian winger Raphinha celebrated his 100th appearance for FC Barcelona with a hat-trick goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League encounter on Wednesday night.
Real Madrid midfielder Isco was named in the 30-man shortlist for the 2017 Ballon d’Or but the Spaniard insisted that his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, not he, deserves to win the prestigious award.
“I don’t think about that, it’s very difficult. I want to live in the moment, day to day. I’m very happy about how things are going and I hope to continue like this, Isco said ahead of Real’s UEFA Champions League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
“Cristiano has to win it, there’s no question about that. It’s very difficult to be up there, it would be a dream. There are 30 nominees and a lot of them from Real Madrid. If the team is doing well, there are more chances to win individual prizes,” the 25-year-old insisted.
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Isco’s advocation for Ronaldo doesn’t come as a surprise as the Portuguese superstar is the heavy favourite to win the gong as not only did the striker score a glut of goals, Real dominated Europe and Spain enroute to the Champions League and La Liga titles.
Ronaldo’s arch-rival Lionel Messi is expected to push the 32-year-old Portuguese close but the fact that Real trounced Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup as well seems to have swung the vote in favour of the Los Blancos winger. Messi, who plays for Real’s great rivals Barcelona, has had a stellar individual year but the fact that Barcelona were unable to win any major trophy apart from the Cops del Rey could derail his chances.
The duo have shared the past nine Golden Balls between themselves and it is a virtual guarantee that the their dominance will extend to a decade when the winner of the 2017 Ballon d’Or is announced.
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