Raphinha, a winger for Barcelona, has spoken out about an event that happened at Disneyland Paris. A world-class football player complaining about a theme park is not something that happens often, but the Brazilian international, who is in the running for next month’s Ballon d’Or, has claimed that staff members neglected his little son while interacting with other kids.
The 28-year-old is now playing for Brazil, who defeated Chile 3-0 on Friday night in their World Cup qualifying match. Bolivia will play them on Wednesday. However, it seems that his family is in France, where the incident was captured on camera.
Raphinha expressed his ire on his Instagram story on Friday afternoon, implying that the actions might have been driven by race. He also shared what appeared to be video of his three-year-old son, Gael, being purposefully ignored by a park mascot.
On her Instagram Story, Raphinha criticises Disneyland Paris.
The former Leeds United winger posted a number of family-shot videos that showed his small son being neglected by a mascot while other kids in the area were embraced and amused. He posted the following on his Instagram stories:
“Your staff is a disgrace.” People should not be treated that way, especially children. It is your responsibility to make them happy, not to ignore them. To put it simply, I would rather say that it was snubbing. @DisneylandParis, you are a shame.
“I can appreciate the exhaustion of people who deal with this, but why was my son excluded while all the white kids were welcomed? @DisneylandParis, I despise you.”
“He just wanted a hi and an embrace,” he stated in a follow-up story. He doesn’t understand, which is lucky for you,” he wrote in his most recent post: “@DisneylandParis, this employee is s***.” @DisneylandParis, this worker is a moron. As of this writing, no official word regarding the incident has been released by Disneyland Paris, Raphinha, his club Barcelona, or the Brazilian football authorities.
Raphinha will continue to concentrate on his responsibilities with Brazil in the interim as he attempts to secure his spot at the World Cup. Three of the ten South American teams—Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador—have already qualified, while Uruguay, Paraguay, and Colombia still need to seal their spots.
The 28-year-old has made three La Liga appearances so far this 2025–26 season, scoring once and providing an assist, as Barcelona now sits fourth in the standings. Real Madrid and Getafe are the only two teams with a perfect record thus far, having won twice and drawn once in their last three games.
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