Barcelona captain Raphinha matches Lionel Messi’s record after stunning start to 2026/27 season

Barcelona captain Raphinha matches Lionel Messi’s record after stunning start to 2026/27 season Raphinha’s remarkable start to the 2026/27 season has reached another level.  His hat-trick against Racing Santander has taken the Barcelona forward into rare territory, with his scoring numbers now putting him alongside Lionel Messi in the club’s record books. The Brazilian struck three times in the victory over Racing, scoring a penalty before the interval and another from the spot after half-time.  The third goal completed his hat-trick and moved his La Liga tally to nine goals after only six matches, putting Raphinha in elite company. Raphinha joins Messi in exclusive Barcelona scoring list Raphinha is the first player to score nine or more goals in his opening six La Liga matches of a season since Messi achieved the same feat in 2017/18. Looking at Barcelona players who have scored at least nine goals in their first seven matches across all competitions over the past 60 years, only four players appear before Raphinha. Messi reached 10 goals in 2012/13, while he also managed nine in 2013/14 and 2011/12. Ronaldo Nazario scored nine in 1996/97. Raphinha has now joined that list with nine goals in 2026/27. Raphinha has become Barcelona’s main goal threat The 29-year-old has found the net in six of Barcelona’s seven matches this season, and the only occasion he failed to score was against Levante, although he still made his presence felt by providing two assists. Raphinha just cannot stop scoring this season. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) Flick’s decision to use Raphinha as a false nine has played a major role in his explosive numbers.  He now has nine goals in La Liga and another two in the Champions League, giving him 11 across all competitions. His form has also placed him in the Pichichi Trophy conversation, as Raphinha currently sits two goals ahead of Kylian Mbappe. For Barcelona, the biggest takeaway is that Raphinha is not only enjoying a good run, but he is also producing numbers that belong in the same conversation as some of the greatest goalscoring starts in the club’s modern history.