Vinicius wants ɾҽʋenge after missing out on the Ballon d’Or
24-year-old striker Vinicius Junior responded on social media after missing out on the 2024 Ballon d’Or to Rodri.
“I will do 10 times this, and they are not ready for that,” Vinicius wrote on his personal page just minutes after Rodri received the 2024 Ballon d’Or.
According to beIN Sports, Vinicius’ message means he will strive even harder to win the Ballon d’Or in the future. Because he believes he deserves to win this year’s award but was not awarded it.
On the morning of the award ceremony on October 28, a list circulated on social media showing the positions of the 30 players nominated for the Ballon d’Or, with Vinicius at the top and Rodri only second. But a few hours later, Spanish media reported that all members of Real Madrid FC would not be in Paris for the award ceremony.
The above list finally has the correct positions of 28 players, except for the top two. Because Rodri just received the Golden Ball, while Vinicius only got the Silver Ball.
Before the award ceremony, the media and European bookmakers all predicted that Vinicius would win the award. A British bookmaker even announced the odds of Vinicius being honored 131 times higher than Rodri. Spanish newspaper Marca wrote an article: “Vinicius will win the Golden Ball”.
According to Relevo, Vinicius told Barca midfielder Gavi in the El Clasico match on the evening of October 26 that he would win the Golden Ball. The Brazilian star even held a party with his close friends from the evening of October 27 to the early morning of October 28. He also promised to give Rolex watches to his teammates at Real Madrid. But after the party, he received news that he had missed the award.
At the same time, the organizers said that the 2024 Golden Ball was the first time they did not announce the results in advance for the winner. The head of the organizing committee, Marc Las, confirmed that only two people knew the result in advance, he and the editor-in-chief of France Football magazine.
After the gala, many of Vinicius’ teammates criticized the award and encouraged him. Former midfielder Toni Kroos posted a picture of Vinicius with two words: “The best”. Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta commented that Vinicius was “excellent, no matter what people say”.
The midfielder was not his teammate, as Mario Lemina of Wolverhampton FC also commented: “Rodri is the best midfielder, but Vinicius is the best player. Goodbye football”.
Due to being too surprised by the result, Real’s board of directors decided to cancel their plans to go to Paris.
The Golden Ball is considered the most prestigious individual award in football, awarded since 1956 to European players, and since 1995 it has been extended to the world. Lionel Messi holds the record for eight wins, in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
For the men’s award, journalists from each country with a team in the FIFA Top 100 will be selected to form a judging panel for the 30 nominees. Each journalist will select 10 players from the Top 30 nominees, with points awarded to each player, respectively, of 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points. The player with the highest total points wins the award.
