Raphinha scores 12 goals in 7 LaLiga games and beats Messi's best start

Raphinha is living the most decisive moment of his career in a Barcelona shirt. Now reinvented as the main attacking reference in Hansi Flick's side, the Brazilian forward scored a perfect hat-trick against Sevilla and moved to the top of the LaLiga scoring charts with 12 goals in the first seven rounds, beating Leo Messi's best start in the competition.

• Raphinha has 12 goals in the first seven LaLiga rounds, one more than Messi's best start.
• He matches the starts of Mariano Martín, Pruden, Campanal and Quini.
• Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Echevarría scored more goals in that early stretch.
• Another hat-trick against Getafe would take him past Messi and Suárez with three straight trebles.
• The Brazilian has scored 14 goals from 22 shots across all competitions.

The Sevilla hat-trick that smashes Messi's LaLiga record

The treble against the Andalusian side leaves Raphinha with 12 goals in the first seven matchdays of the championship. That figure surpasses Leo Messi's best scoring start, when the Argentine managed 11 goals in the same stretch during the 2017-18 campaign. The Brazilian also equals the early-season record of four other historic forwards: Mariano Martín with Barcelona, Pruden with Atlético de Madrid in 1940-41, Campanal with Sevilla that same season and Quini with Sporting in 1979-80.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Echevarría, the only players ahead of him after seven games

Despite his spectacular numbers, Raphinha does not yet own the best start in LaLiga history. Through the first seven rounds, only two forwards remain ahead of him: Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 13 goals in the 2014-15 campaign, and Echevarría, who reached 14 goals with Oviedo. The Brazilian now has the Portuguese star's record in his immediate sights, as Ronaldo went on to score 16 goals in the first eight matchdays that season.

What Raphinha needs against Getafe to keep making history

After the international break, during which Raphinha will play friendlies with Brazil in Australia and India, Barcelona will host Getafe at the Spotify Camp Nou on October 10. To match Cristiano's 16 goals through eight rounds in 2014-15, the Brazilian would need to score four times in that match.

Three straight hat-tricks, a feat only two legends have achieved

Even without reaching four goals, another treble would open a deeply symbolic door. In the club's recent history, only Messi and Luis Suárez had managed consecutive hat-tricks. Neither of them ever produced three in a row, something that in LaLiga was only achieved by Langara with Oviedo in 1934-35 and Zarra with Athletic Club in 1946-47. If Raphinha scores another hat-trick against Getafe, he would join that extremely select group.

The finishing efficiency of a forward now playing like an elite '9'

Raphinha's numbers become even more impressive when looking at his accuracy in front of goal. Including the Champions League match against Feyenoord, the Porto Alegre native has taken 22 shots this season. Only one went wide, two hit the post, and of the 19 on target, 14 ended up in the back of the net.

Those are numbers normally associated with elite finishers such as Romario, Ronaldo, Messi, Cristiano, Suárez, Lewandowski, Haaland or Kane. That is why Raphinha is no longer a converted winger: he is the '9' Hansi Flick needed for his Barcelona and the team's main attacking solution.

From right winger to center forward: Raphinha's evolution at Barcelona

The Brazilian arrived at Barça in the summer of 2022 to perform as a right winger. When Lamine Yamal broke through on that flank, he reinvented himself as a left winger. And now, after the departures of Lewandowski and Ferran Torres and the failed attempt to sign Julián Álvarez, he has taken over the center forward role. Not just any '9': a goalscorer making the difference every single round.