Simeone in awe of Barcelona superstar after Atletico loss – ‘Don’t know how he didn’t win the Ballon d’Or’

Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid saw their seven-game winning run come to an end last night as FC Barcelona beat them 3-1 at the Spotify Camp Nou.

Raphinha was one of the stars of the night for Barcelona, starting the comeback for his team with the equalising goal after Alex Baena had put the visitors in front.

Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres found the back of the net in the second half to complete the comeback and bag a pivotal win.

Simeone impressed by Raphinha

Speaking to the media after his team’s defeat, Diego Simeone was full of praise for Raphinha and the way he played, expressing surprise at the Barcelona superstar not winning the Ballon d’Or this season.

“I love him. He plays everywhere, wherever they put him. And he scores beautiful goals. I don’t know how he didn’t win the Ballon d’Or. I’d choose him,” said the Atletico Madrid manager.

Raphinha’s return has made a big difference for Barcelona. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

It must be noted that despite enjoying a stellar campaign, during which he directly contributed more than 60 goals and won three trophies, Raphinha finished fifth in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings.

Ousmane Dembele of PSG won the Golden Orb, with Lamine Yamal finishing second and Vitinha third. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool took fourth place with Raphinha coming in fifth – something that Simeone was surprised by.

On being asked for his assessment of the match, Simeone explained: “We started well. But they managed to hurt us through the middle, with through balls. In the second half, it was the opposite: they started a little better.

“But after 20 minutes, we were the ones pushing for the win. We couldn’t quite finish it off, but I liked the team’s performance.

“We know they have excellent passing ability and that they play with a lot of players in the middle to create disarray for the opposing centre-backs, and today it worked very well for them.”

Source: AS