Unable to play due to injury, Raphinha was still present at the Metropolitano stadium on 14/5 to watch his teammates compete in the second leg. After Barcelona won 2-1 but were eliminated with an aggregate score of 2-3, the Brazilian star did not hide his anger when he stopped in the mixed-zone for interviews.

"Barcelona's victory was stolen," Raphinha said. "Mistakes can happen in football, but for them to be repeated in both legs is unacceptable. We played very well, but our chance to advance was taken away from Barcelona."

Raphinha's view reflected the tense and frustrated atmosphere in the away dressing room, following a match where they started almost perfectly. At the Metropolitano stadium, Barcelona entered the game with high determination, needing to overturn a 0-2 first-leg deficit. In just the 4th minute, Lamine Yamal opened the scoring after an assist from Ferran Torres, before Torres himself doubled the lead in the 24th minute. However, in the 31st minute, Ademola Lookman scored to reduce the second-leg score to 1-2, simultaneously restoring Atletico's 3-2 aggregate advantage.

Raphinha before the Barcelona versus Atletico match at Metropolitano stadium, madrid, spain on 14/4/2026. Photo: Fabrizio Romano

After halftime, Barcelona continued to press and seemingly equalized the aggregate score when Torres found the net in the 55th minute. However, VAR disallowed the goal for offside. In the 79th minute, center-back Eric Garcia was sent off after the referee reviewed VAR and determined he had denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

According to Raphinha, such decisions were unacceptable. "The way the match was officiated was terrible," the 29-year-old forward added. "Atletico committed many fouls, but received almost no yellow cards. I really want to understand why it felt like the referee did not want Barcelona to advance."

In the first leg, Barcelona also had to play with one less player from the end of the first half when Pau Cubarsi fouled Giuliano Simeone to prevent the Atletico forward from entering the penalty area. Worse, immediately from the resulting free-kick, Atletico capitalized with a superb goal from Julian Alvarez.

The incident where Eric Garcia fouled Sorloth and received a red card at Metropolitano stadium on 14/4. Photo: screenshot

Not only Raphinha, but many Barcelona members also expressed dissatisfaction. Frenkie de Jong believed his team did everything possible, but every detail went against Barcelona. The Dutch midfielder mentioned pivotal moments, particularly the red card and penalty in the first leg, along with controversial decisions in the second leg. "We played better in both matches, even when playing with one less player," de Jong said. "But the champions league is always decided by small moments, and this time everything was not on Barcelona's side."

Meanwhile, midfielder Gavi admitted the home team dominated the play but lacked precision in finishing. "We played better, but the ball has to go into the net to win," the 21-year-old midfielder shared.

Off the field, former Barcelona executive Toni Freixa also attracted attention with harsh statements on social media and in the media. He claimed Barcelona were eliminated by "anti-football tactics and referee bias," even calling the champions league "a shameful tournament."

The strong reactions underscore Barcelona's belief that they suffered injustice over the two legs. Statistics partly support this view. In the second leg, Hansi Flick's team controlled 67% of possession, created more clear opportunities, and had a higher expected goals (xG) metric than their opponent (2,28 compared to 1,71). However, efficiency and decisive moments belonged to Atletico.

Barcelona's defeat was not solely due to controversial decisions. They also missed many good opportunities, including Ronald Araujo's close-range header over the bar in injury time. This result means they have not won the champions league since 2015. "We fought until the end, but the result does not reflect what happened on the field," Raphinha added. "Barcelona should have been in the semi-finals."

Hoang An (according to Marca)