Raphinha, the star of Barcelona, picked one side that may prevent the Blaugrana from winning the Champions League, but his prediction is already in doubt.
Barca has won the Champions League five times in its history; its most recent victory, a historic treble in 2015, came under Luis Enrique.
In addition to winning in 1992, 2006, 2009, and 2011, the Blaugrana have recently struggled in the competition’s latter rounds and were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals of the previous season.
However, the Catalan powerhouses have been playing well in Europe this year, losing only one of their last eight games and placing second in the 36-team Champions League standings with 19 points.
They will now play Borussia Dortmund over two legs in the quarterfinals after eliminating Benfica in the round of 16.
With 11 goals and five assists in the Champions League alone, captain Raphinha has been a key contributor to their success.
However, his forecast was a bit off, even though the Brazilian hasn’t made a mistake on the pitch all season.
Raphinha discussed who he thought his club will face in the Champions League final in Munich on May 31 in a video with YouTuber and content producer Adri Conteras in January.
Raphinha was wrong when she predicted that the Champions League final would occur.
“My prediction for the Champions League final? Barcelona vs. Manchester City,” stated Raphinha.
However, only a few weeks after Raphinha made the call, his forecast was already a failure. Real Madrid, the holders and 15-time European champions, defeated City, the 2023 winners under Pep Guardiola.
Following Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, City lost 6-3 overall despite leading twice in the home match.
Real has since defeated city rivals Atletico on penalties in the round of 16 to go to the quarterfinals and face Arsenal. That was during the elimination play-offs.
However, the Gunners shocked Real Madrid in the first leg, winning 3-0 at the Emirates thanks to a goal from Mikel Merino and two spectacular free kicks from Declan Rice.
Barca will face the winner of Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan in the semi-finals if they defeat Dortmund. At the Allianz Arena, Inter had a 2-1 advantage after the first leg.
Whoever wins between PSG and Aston Villa will face the winner of Arsenal and Real; if Barcelona makes it to the final, they will face one of those four teams.
xz
