Manchester City and Spain star Rodri was announced as the latest recipient of the Ballon d’Or in a glitzy ceremony in Paris last month but Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr was left disgruntled
Vinicius Jr was completely SNUBBED by three pundits as he was beaten to the Ballon d’Or.
The Brazilian was among the favourites heading into last month’s glitzy ceremony. But he chose not to travel to Paris after learning he had been pipped to the coveted award by Manchester City’s Rodri, who claimed the trophy after his stellar performances for the reigning Premier League champions.
He also played a key role for Spain as they won Euro 2024. And it has now been revealed how close the voting ended up being.
The Ballon d’Or was voted by a panel of 99 judges – each voting for their top ten players in the world. Each first-placed spot was awarded 15 points, followed by 12, 10, eight, seven, five and so on, with the final player in each list banking just a solitary point.
And French outlet L’Equipe have now revealed how the standings turned out. Rodri naturally claimed the most points with 1170 – 41 ahead of nearest rival Vinicius.
Despite the Brazilian wideman finishing second with 1129 points, he was bafflingly spurned by a few journalists. Vinicius was not included in the top ten of three voters, despite his remarkable form for Real Madrid.
His Los Blancos’ teammate Jude Bellingham finished some way behind with 917 points to his name. The Spanish club were left furious at the results and effectively boycotted the ceremony.
A statement from Real read: “If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner. As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d’Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected.”
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But with the dust having now settled on the drama, one of Vinicius Jr’s compatriots has torn into him. Former Brazil star Rivaldo has demanded he focus on his performances instead but expects him to claim the award in the future.
He said: “Vinicius has to get this Ballon d’Or story out of his head, start playing again and start playing well for Real Madrid, who have to win games after two consecutive defeats. Vinicius is young, he has the age and the football to turn all this around.
“One day he will win the Ballon d’Or. He could be the best in the world one or more times. Do all the journalists who vote really understand football? Are all of them, absolutely all of them, really qualified people?
“I can’t underestimate Rodri. He’s a player I like. For me he was my second candidate. And yes, although I think Vinicius deserved the Ballon d’Or more, I can’t take away any merit from the award, because I really admire Rodri. His way of playing and his style. I like him.”
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