Raphinha Surpasses Messi, Chases Ronaldo With Stunning LaLiga Start

Raphinha has surpassed Lionel Messi’s best-ever start to a LaLiga season at Barcelona after scoring a hat-trick against Sevilla on Saturday.

The Brazilian’s treble took his tally to 12 goals in Barcelona’s first seven LaLiga games of the 2026/27 campaign, putting him among an elite group of players to have reached that figure at this stage of the season.

According to Spanish statistics expert MisterChip, only seven players in LaLiga history had scored at least 12 goals in their first seven league appearances.

Raphinha has now moved past Messi, who scored 11 goals in Barcelona’s first seven LaLiga matches.

However, the Brazilian still has one player ahead of him on the list.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored 13 goals in his first seven LaLiga appearances for Real Madrid during the 2014/15 season, when he eventually finished with 48 goals in 35 league games.

The record belongs to Esteban Echevarría, who scored 14 goals for Real Oviedo in his first seven league appearances during the 1943/44 season.

Raphinha’s latest scoring feat underlines the extraordinary start he has made to the new campaign.

The 29-year-old has flourished in a more central attacking role following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, with new signing Gabriel Jesus also arriving from Arsenal.

His transformation comes after he was surprisingly left off the shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or.

Raphinha now has an opportunity to make his case on the pitch, and his remarkable goalscoring start suggests he intends to do exactly that.