🚨💢Raphinha names the only club he thinks can stop Barcelona winning the Champions League this season

Raphinha names the only club he thinks can stop Barcelona winning the Champions League this season

Updated 14:28 15 Jan 2025 GMT

Published 14:23 15 Jan 2025 GMT

Raphinha names the only club he thinks can stop Barcelona winning the Champions League this season

The Barcelona winger gave an honest take on the club’s Champions League ambitions this season.

Luke Alfred Davies

Luke Alfred Davies

Barcelona winger Raphinha has named the club he thinks could stop his side from winning the 2024/25 Champions League.

Raphinha, 28, has been a standout player during Hansi Flick’s first season in charge of the La Liga side.

The Brazilian has registered 19 goals and 11 assists in 27 appearances for Barca this season and has made clear that his side have ambitions of clinching their sixth European crown, having last won the Champions League against Juventus back in 2015.

Barca are currently second in the 36-team Champions League group phase, sporting an impressive record of five wins and just one defeat in six games which will likely see them progress to the round of 16.

The Barcelona skipper has already made clear that his side will “fight” for this year’s Champions League.

He backed his side to go all the way to the final, which will take place at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany in May.

But he conceded that Manchester City could be their opponent. Raphinha gave his thoughts in an interview with Adri Conteras.

“My prediction for the Champions League final? Barcelona vs. Manchester City,” said Raphinha.

Raphinha has impressed this season (Credit:Getty)

Raphinha has impressed this season (Credit:Getty)

Barca boss Flick, 59, explained how “many teams” dream of winning Europe’s premier competition but insisted that side need to “work hard” to get there.

“We have to work hard,” Flick said in November.

“There are many teams who dream of the same thing, of winning (the Champions League).

“For the moment, we’re going to focus on working hard and grinding out, so then we’ll see what happens. We have to focus on our goal which is to keep improving.

“A team’s form fluctuates a lot over a long season. The important thing is to focus on winning the next match. Sure, after the match against Bayern everything changed.

“But we are just starting. The important thing is how we finish the season. We could say that our goal is to be in the top eight.”

Barca currently sit third in La Liga behind leaders Atletico Madrid and second place Real Madrid. But they have registered some eye-catching results this season, having beaten Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga in October. Then, on Sunday, they won 5-2 against Los Blancos in the Supercopa de Espana. They will no doubt back themselves to secure more silverware this term.