Criticism greets Vini Jr snub by Ballon d’Or panel as fans and greats like Figo and Kross condemn the decision
The sudden twist in the Ballon d’Or saga on the day of the award ceremony has split the world of football into two distinct groups of polarising ideas.
One set believes that Rodri was always the rightful winner of the Ballon d’Or given his accomplishments and consistency throughout the season. The population of this section in Madrid, unsurprisingly, is scarce.
The larger, and more profound of the two groups is the one believing that Vinicius Jr. was robbed of an accolade that was rightfully his and the race to which he led for months.
Needless to say, the surprising development has not gone down with the latter group with fans and players coming out in support of the player.
As revealed in a recent video published by El Chiringuito TV, fans of Vinicius and Real Madrid have gathered around the Theatre du Chatelet in massive numbers, cheering his name and condemning the sudden decision.
It is not only fans of Vinicius who have come out in a show of support for the winger but also his teammates for club and country.
Tottenham Hotspur and Brazil striker Richarlison have come out to verbally threaten authorities to ensure that the deserved player wins.
“If Vini doesn’t win, s**t is going to go down,” he said.
Apart from Real Madrid, various personalities across the footballing fraternity had backed the Brazilian to win the coveted trophy. But to everyone’s surprise, Rodri pipped the attacker in the voting, winning by a narrow margin.
The report suggests Real Madrid are exclusively blaming UEFA. The club believes that European football’s governing body was the main orchestrator behind the Rodri win.
In fact, Real Madrid consider UEFA as their main enemy for multiple reasons. It must be noted that the two entities have had tensions in the past surrounding Madrid’s support of the European Super League.
Now, with UEFA collaborating with France Football for the first time since 1956 for the Ballon d’Or, Real Madrid believes the entity had played a key role in making sure Vinicius did not win the award.
Former Barca, Madrid Inter forward Luis Figo is another high-profile football figure to slam the decision not to award the 2024 Ballon d’Or to Vinicius Jr.
Figo, who won the award himself in the year 2000 while at Real Madrid, said that the Ballon d’Or “was a prestigious award, until today,” while on the red carpet at the ceremony in Paris on Monday evening.
Toni Kroos also spoke about Vinícius Jr. missing out on the Ballon d’Or.
Speaking during a media appearance of his own on Monday evening, it, therefore, came as little surprise when the subject of his ex-teammates high-profile snub was put to the aforementioned Toni Kroos.
And, in his response, midfield icon Kroos went on to play down the importance of the Ballon d’Or, explaining:
”Rodri will win the Ballon d’Or. I’ve never seen the importance of these individual awards in football, they have no place.”
Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid players release furious statements seconds after Rodri wins the Ballon d'Or
Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga followed up on the announcement, commenting: "Football politics [cross emoji] My brother you are the best player in the world and no award can say otherwise. Love you, my bro."
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Andrey Lunin posted a picture of himself and Vinicius on Instagram, with a sticker that said "You're the best."
Vinicius' club and country colleague Eder Militao also weighed in on his feed, adding: "You are the best and no one can take that away from you! The Best!".
And finally, Aurelien Tchouameni felt the need to give Vinicius his flowers. On X, formerly known as Twitter, the France international posted: "Nothing will take away what you’ve achieved my brother. We all know”
Vinicius reportedly cancelled a chartered flight and private event that he had organised for the event and ultimately had to settle for second place. Jude Bellingham came third while captain Dani Carvajal took the fourth spot.
