Antony or Raphinha? Who is the better player?
The two most highly talented and promising players who are also the best entertainers are always in the news and minds of fans. Antony and Raphinha are two extremely talented Brazilians who are loved by millions of fans worldwide. A short time ago both of them were on the market and big clubs were ready to pay huge amounts of transfer money to sign them. Barcelona at first considered signing Antony before Manchester United but eventually, they did not continue with the deal as Antony did not feel like a perfect fit for them.
People all around the world love to see skilful Brazilians on the pitch as they are very unique in their own way. Unfortunately, the start of both of these players in their new clubs has been slow. The fans of Barcelona and Manchester United expected more from these players but these two players are struggling to provide the expected results.
Antony Vs Raphinha?
1: Player Stats
The two young talents of Brazil play as right-wingers for their clubs. Antony and Raphinha are extremely skilful which helps them in the wing positions during attacks. In the past few seasons, the fans of both these players have experienced how good both of them are in the right-wing position. Although there is a lot left to achieve for Antony in Manchester United and Raphinha in FC Barcelona.
We will compare them based on the 2020/21 stats as both of them were in great form during that season:
Head-to-Head:
Antony | Raphinha | |
Matches | 32 | 30 |
Mins | 1857 | 2525 |
Goals | 9 | 6 |
Shots | 59 | 67 |
Assists | 8 | 9 |
Passes | 875 | 906 |
Pass Success % | 81% | 73% |
Offsides | 2 | 14 |
It is easy to say that Antony wins easily in this category as he has more goals than Raphinha. Antony also had great Champions League stats in the same season with 2 goals and 4 assists.
Overall:
Antony | Raphinha | |
Matches | 132 | 263 |
Goals | 31 | 64 |
Assists | 28 | 42 |
Raphinha edges over Antony by a small margin in the overall career stats. We should also consider Raphinga joined Leeds United roughly at the same age as Antony joined Man United. It is much more difficult to score goals in Premier League than in the Dutch league.
Based on the above comparison Antony is the winner in this category.
2: Titles Won
Antony won the Eredivisie twice and the Dutch cup while Raphinha won the Portuguese League and Cup.
Antony | Raphinha | |
Eredivisie | 1 | N/A |
Dutch Cup | 1 | N/A |
Portuguese | N/A | 1 |
Portuguese League Cup | N/A | 1 |
It would be too soon to point a winner in this category as both these players are quite young and will lift plenty more titles in the future.
3: International Career
Antony and Raphinha made their international debut in the same year for Brasil. Both the players have played in a similar number of matches for Brasil. Antony has 2 goals for his country in big competitions and Raphinha has 5 goals. These players work hard and give their best to make their country proud. The recent World Cup 2022 did not turn out the way Brasil wanted it to be but the fans are hopeful for the next World Cup.
In this category, both Antony and Raphinha are gems and deserve huge respect for them.
4: Personal Life
Life has been very difficult for the Manchester United star Antony as he comes from a poor family background. In his early days, he did not have boots to wear and used to live in a bad neighbourhood. A person who comes from a background like that and reaches great success knows the true value of it. Football changed the life of Antony and his family. The main priority of the player is to keep improving his game and be a better version of himself with every game he plays.
The story of Raphinha is no different than Antony’s. He used to live in a slum and had to ask for food at times. The player’s father was somehow in contact with Ronaldinho and he even visited their house on his birthday when he was 7 years old. The player paved his way through all odds and made it to the top clubs of world football.
5: Individual Honours
It is suggested by all the pundits of English football that the best way to compare two players is to compare their glories. If a player is genuinely good then he will surely be rewarded for his performance.
Individual honours of Antony:
- J-League Under-17 Challenge Cup Player of the Tournament: 2018
- Eredivisie Player of the Month: December 2020
Individual honours of Raphinha:
- Vitória Guimarães Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2017
At this moment both of these players did not win many individual honours. In future, we might see them winning them more frequently. As things stand Antony is the winner in this category.
Who is the better player?
It is very difficult to compare two young and extremely promising players at this moment. Antony and Raphinha both are great when it comes to attack and wing play. Although Raphinha is slightly better than Antony when it comes to defence.
Based upon the above comparison if we predict the career Antony will have he might be better than Raphinha. Similarly, Raphinha moved to FC Barcelona where he will win more titles than Antony might in Manchester United. The debate is still open. The only time this debate can end is when both these players hang their boots or in the future.
Antony any day 💪🏻
Antony is a better baller