2 weeks Ago By Joe Wright
Vinicius Junior signalled his apparent determination to win the Ballon d'Or in future after surprisingly losing out to Manchester City star Rodri in 2024 . The Real Madrid forward came second in the vote behind the Spain international, the results of which were announced at a ceremony in Paris on Monday . Vinicius had been expected to win the top men's prize following his standout displays in 2023/24 as Madrid claimed La Liga and UEFA Champions League glory, while teammate Jude Bellingham — who finished third in the final rankings — was also among the favourites.
However, news began to circulate early on October 28 that Rodri had won the vote, prompting an extraordinary response from Madrid , who boycotted the ceremony entirely despite having seven nominees for the top men's prize and enjoying success for coach Carlo Ancelotti and the club as a whole in the other categories. MORE: All the latest soccer news | Real Madrid news | Explaining how 'socios' own Real Madrid Ancelotti posted to X after the gala to pay tribute to Vinicius and fellow nominee Dani Carvajal after being named men's Coach of the Year, while Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga decried "football politics" as he posted "My brother you are the best player in the world and no award can say otherwise" in support of Vinicius. I want to thank my Family, my President, my Club, my Players and above all Vini and Carvajal.
pic.twitter.com/bdMJQmTflx The Brazilian had earlier expressed gratitude to former teammate Toni Kroos following his message of support on Instagram, and after the ceremony concluded in Paris, he posted a brief statement of defiance on X.
Vinicius speaks out after losing out to Rodri in Ballon d'Or 2024 Writing in Portuguese, he said: "I'll do it 10x if I have to. They're not ready." Eu farei 10x se for preciso.
Eles não estão preparados. Vinicius certainly had the stats and silverware to back up his claim to the prize , as did his teammates. Indeed, Carvajal was arguably a more deserving candidate given he won Euro 2024 with Spain.
Yet the club's decision not to attend the event has been met with severe criticism from elsewhere, not least given both the men's and women's top prizes were won by Spanish players. < Aitana, Rodri ✨✨✨Our 2024 Ballon d'Or! #ballondor pic.twitter.
com/9TBL0XP8Uo.
