Vinicius Junior, the long-anticipated favorite to win this year’s Ballon d’Or as the best men’s football player, reportedly will not attend the award ceremony in Paris on Monday evening. His absence, along with the rest of the Real Madrid squad members expected to attend, is due to the belief that Manchester City midfielder Rodri will receive the award, sources told ESPN.
Real Madrid has seven players nominated, all of whom will finish in the top 22 in the award’s voting. An additional two players along with manager Carlo Ancelotti, who’s nominated for best men’s coach, decided not to attend out of protest for Vinicius not winning.
One club source told ESPN it would be “a historic robbery” if Vinicius didn’t receive the Ballon d’Or. He would be the first Real Madrid player to win since Karim Benzema in 2022 and the first Brazilian since Kaka in 2007.
This is the third year the Ballon d’Or is being awarded based on the previous club season (August-July), a switch from the calendar year format.
Vinicius starred for Real Madrid last season as he helped the club secure a La Liga and Champions League double. He scored 24 goals and added 11 assists in 39 games across all competitions. He particularly thrived in the Champions League where he scored six times and assisted on five other goals in 10 games, including a goal in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the final.
Why Rodri over Vinicius Junior?
While not yet confirmed, Real Madrid’s decision not to send anyone makes it fairly clear that Rodri will receive the Ballon d’Or tonight. It would be an even bigger shock if he did not win based on the reaction from the Spanish champions.
Perhaps what separated Rodri’s and Vinicius Junior’s bids was their performances on international duty last summer. Rodri was a key player for Spain as they captured the European Championship. At the same time, Vinicius was mostly a non-factor for a disappointing Brazilian side that lost to Uruguay on penalties in the Copa America quarterfinals.
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Rodri has a strong case from the club side too, having led Manchester City players in minutes during their Premier League-winning campaign. He had 17 goals and assists in 34 Premier League games, adding a goal and five assists in 16 more games across other competitions.
Vinicius will undoubtedly have more chances to receive the Ballon d’Or, but coming away empty-handed after it was widely expected he’d win is a tough pill to swallow.
The Real Madrid star is already off to a blistering start this season with five goals and six assists in 11 La Liga games. Vinicius Junior scored a hat trick against Borussia Dortmund last week in a 5-2 Real Madrid win.