Neymar publicly vented his frustration after the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris.
The former Barcelona and PSG ace was angered by Raphinha’s fifth-place finish.
The Santos striker, who himself peaked at third in 2017, took to Instagram to mock France Football’s decision.
Barcelona winger Raphinha produced one of the most complete seasons in Europe, scoring 34 goals and providing 22 assists across 57 appearances.
He also finished as the Champions League’s top scorer with 13 goals and also helped Barcelona lift La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
Despite those numbers, he trailed Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal, Vitinha and Mohamed Salah in the final vote.
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Neymar commented on journalist Eduardo Semblano’s Instagram post about the rankings with 33-year-old writing, “Raphinha in 5th is too much of a joke”
📲 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Neymar on Instagram: “😂 Raphinha in 5th is too much of a joke.” pic.twitter.com/v82IHgoNQl
— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) September 23, 2025
Dembele claimed the award after leading PSG to a treble with 35 goals and 16 assists, becoming the club’s first Ballon d’Or winner.
Barcelona teenager Yamal finished second, PSG’s Vitinha earned third and Liverpool’s Salah secured fourth, leaving Raphinha outside the podium.
This is the second consecutive year Neymar criticized France Football’s choices, after previously claiming Vinicius Junior deserved the award in 2024 over Rodri.
Final Ballon d’Or 2025 final ranking
- Ousmane Dembele (PSG)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
- Vitinha (PSG)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Raphinha (Barcelona)
- Achraf Hakimi (PSG)
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)
- Nuno Mendes (PSG)
- Pedri (Barcelona)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
- Desire Doue (PSG)
- Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting)
- Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
- Scott McTominay (Napoli)
- Joao Neves (PSG)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
- Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund)
- Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
- Fabian Ruiz (PSG)
- Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
- Declan Rice (Arsenal)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
- Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)
