Raphinha paid tribute to Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel after scoring twice in Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League victory over Aston Villa on 3 November.
Rather than discuss his own performance, the Brazilian used his post-match interview to remember the 30-year-old, who died earlier that day.
De Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest following a collision with Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono during a Segunda División match the previous day. Tenerife later confirmed his death.
Named man of the match, Raphinha told Movistar+ that he wanted to dedicate the victory to the fans but did not want to discuss the game.
“Today I don’t want to talk about football, I want to send a message to the family of Jesus,” he said, according to Al Jazeera. “May he rest in peace. In the end, this can happen to anyone,” he added.
Raphinha also reflected on the impact of the tragedy on fellow players, saying: “It was very hard when we saw the news.”
Barcelona marked the occasion before kick-off by not playing the Champions League anthem. A minute’s silence was also held at Spotify Camp Nou. On the pitch, Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Raphinha struck twice, in the 52nd and 64th minutes.
The victory took Barcelona to nine points in the league phase.
