Football is full of debates, but performance on the pitch is never up for opinion, it’s measurable. And yet, every autumn, one of the sport’s most prestigious individual trophy, the Ballon d’Or, reflects narrative, legacy and subjective opinions.
That’s exactly why the foundation of Sofascore’s Player of the Season award is set differently: no votes, no campaigns, just data-driven recognition of who truly delivered week in, week out.
And this year, two players embody the gap between perception and reality more than anyone — Raphinha and Joshua Kimmich.
Raphinha – La Liga’s Top Performer
Sofascore Rating: 7.80, the highest in LaLiga and in the Champions League.
- LaLiga Stats: 18 goals and 9 assists in the league season in 36 matches
- Overall Season Stats: 57 appearances, 34 goals & 22 assists
- UCL 8.24 Rating: it is the highest average rating in the 2024/25 Champions League season according to Sofascore metrics.
Raphinha was more than just Barcelona’s most productive attacker. He was the difference-maker in key moments, stretching defenses, creating space for teammates, and often stepping up when the team needed him most. In a season of transition for Barça, he provided both goals and leadership on the pitch, making his influence impossible to ignore.
Despite these numbers, Raphinha is rarely placed among the leading names in global award conversations. This fall, predictions highlight players like Lamine Yamal, Dembele and Mbappe as the main favourites for the well-known football award – the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
That gap shows why football needs an objective alternative in the awards space.
Joshua Kimmich – Bundesliga’s Most Consistent
Sofascore Rating: 7.91, the highest in the Bundesliga, season-long.
Impact: The midfield backbone of Bayern Munich, game in and game out.
Kimmich’s role goes beyond statistics. He dictated Bayern’s tempo, orchestrated attacks, and shielded the defense with equal precision. Week after week, his control in midfield allowed Bayern’s forwards to flourish and gave the team stability when games got tense. Few players in Europe are as central to their side’s structure as Kimmich is to Bayern.
Yet, he’s not even on the Ballon d’Or shortlist. For more on how tight the race was between Kimmich and Michael Olise, revisit our earlier analysis ON THIS LINK.
A New Standard of Recognition
This summer, the Sofascore Player of the Season Award Show aired worldwide on CBS from Zadar, with legends like Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards, and Alessandro Del Piero reflecting on winners chosen by performance only. The message was simple:
Sofascore Player of the Season celebrates what actually happened on the pitch! We reward what happened on the pitch. Others reward how it’s remembered.
That’s why we call it the most objective football award in the world.
No votes.
No campaigns.
Just performance.
The Most Objective Award in Football
When Raphinha and Kimmich dominate the data yet are sidelined in the biggest award conversations, the need for an objective alternative becomes clear.
The Ballon d’Or will always be the most glamorous trophy. But glamour doesn’t always capture accuracy. Stories and narratives shape those decisions, not every season’s reality.
Sofascore’s Player of the Season award changes that. No votes, no campaigns, no headlines steering the outcome, just performance measured every single week.
That’s why we don’t just call it the most objective award in football. We call it the only football award that actually counts.