Lamine Yamal vs Raphinha: Who Is the Better Player at Barcelona?

Barcelona's forwards are arguably the best in the 2026/27 season so far.

Raphinha, the Brazilian, who was signed from Leeds United in 2022 as a result of his hard work and ability to produce results when needed, has been on fire. On the other is the teenager, Lamine Yamal, who can make the same pitch look smaller each time he has the ball and has been delivering equally.

So, who is the better player then?

For the sake of comparison, we’ll disregard Raphinha’s numbers from his time at Leeds and his performances before Lamine Yamal’s debut in the 2023–24 season. This allows us to compare both players from the point when they started playing together at Barcelona and see who has produced the better numbers since then.

In his first full season in 2023-24, Yamal has scored 5 goals and dished out 5 assists in 1,380 minutes to register 0.33 per 90 as a 16-year-old.

The following season, he got better.

In 2024–25, Yamal recorded 9 goals and 13 assists in 2,856 La Liga minutes, or 0.69 G+A per 90. He was not only influential on the last lap, but on every lap. He averaged 5.8 progressive carries and 5.1 successful take-ons per 90, which was in the 99th percentile for wingers in Europe's top five leagues.

Yamal was an elite chance creator by 2025-26. He averaged over 5.2 shot-creating actions per 90, generated 64+ key chance opportunities and capped the season with a total of 16 goals and 11 assists in the league.

Lamine's form has persisted this season with his dribbling, chance-creating, and goals-plus-assists figures keeping him one of Barcelona's most potent attackers.

Raphinha's journey has been more direct but has shown steady growth at the same time. He was solid in 2023-24 with 6 goals and 9 assists in La Liga. 

He followed that up with a step up in form the following season (2024-25) with 18 league goals and 9 assists, plus 34 goals and 22-25 assists overall. He was one of the most consistent attackers in Barcelona with a finishing efficiency of 0.85 xG+xA per 90.

Despite being rotated and deployed in the squad by Hansi Flick, Raphinha's form remained strong in 2025–26, netting 13 goals and adding 3 assists in 22 La Liga games, and 21 goals and 7 assists in all competitions. His xG+xA per 90 minutes was also above 0.80.

The numbers show why the debate is not as simple as choosing the player with more goals or the player with more assists.

Yamal dominates the categories that make him so difficult to defend. He beats opponents, carries the ball into dangerous areas, and creates opportunities from situations where there appears to be very little space.

Raphinha's strengths are different. He is more direct in front of goal, makes better use of attacking spaces and has already shown that he can maintain his output across an entire campaign and deliver in major games.

These differences in the players' quality are important for Barcelona.

Yamal can stretch a defence and force opponents to retreat. His ability to carry the ball means defenders often have to make the first move, which can create space elsewhere.

Raphinha can then attack that space.

Neither player provides everything Barcelona need on his own. Yamal brings the unpredictability and creativity, while Raphinha brings greater finishing reliability and proven end product.

So, who is better?

Lamine Yamal gets the edge.

The reason is simple. Yamal can create chances for himself and for the strikers around him. He can combine with different types of forwards and still influence the game because of his ability to carry the ball, beat defenders and create opportunities from limited space.

Raphinha, on the other hand, is at his best when the creativity around him allows him to attack space, use his pace and get into positions where he can finish. If the chances stop coming, his influence can drop slightly because much of his strength comes from turning good attacking situations into goals.

That does not make Raphinha less important. It simply means Yamal offers more ways to influence a game.