New Delhi: Vinicius Junior believes his prolonged campaign against racism denied him a chance to win the Ballon d’Or after he finished second behind Rodri in the award voting.
The Real Madrid star came in second behind Manchester City midfielder in the prestigious award that is voted by a jury of journalists who represent the top 100 countries in FIFA rankings.
Brazilian Vinicius was a key figure in Real’s Champions League-La Liga double winning campaign last season and was considered the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, but was shocked to see Rodri getting the nod.
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Vinicius has been vocal about fighting racist chants he has been subjected to in some matches in Spain. He later wrote on social media: “I’ll do it 10x if I have to. They’re not ready”.
His management later confirmed Vinicius’ post was about his anti-racism stance and believe it might have been a factor in the outcome of the award. “The football world is not ready to accept a player who fights against the system,” it said to Reuters.
Eu farei 10x se for preciso. Eles não estão preparados.
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) October 28, 2024
Real Madrid boycott Ballon d’Or ceremony
As a mark of protest over a perceived snub of its players, the Spanish giants didn’t participate in the event. Real’s Vinicius came in second while Jude Bellingham was third in the voting.
The reigning European champions wondered about the selection process and question why their defender Dani Carvajal, a team-mate of Rodri for the Spanish national team that won the Euro 2024 and one of the 30 players nominated, was similalrly overlooked.
“If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner,” the La Liga champions told AFP.
“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.”
All seven Madrid players who were in the short list including Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger, Fede Valverde and the retired Toni Kroos skipped the award at Paris’ Chatelet Theatre.
