Vinícius surprises with revelation about the Ballon d’Or
The Brazilian and Real Madrid were not present at the last edition of the award, which ended up being given to Rodri
Real Madrid ‘s controversial absence from the 2024 Ballon d’Or gala took a new turn on Monday, with an unexpected comment from Vinícius . The Brazilian was at a press conference, previewing the match against Atlético Madrid , for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 , when he was asked if he felt betrayed by not winning the Ballon d’Or.
In response, Vini said: “I didn’t feel betrayed because people vote for what they believe in…. I have my thoughts, my teammates too, many people give me a lot of support to continue playing and I never dreamed of winning the Ballon d’Or.”
This revelation came as a surprise due to the boycott that Real Madrid and the player had made of the ceremony. The latter also took no time in reacting to the loss of the award to Rodri , writing at the time on social media: «I will do it 10 times if necessary. They are not prepared.»
At the same conference, Vinícius also explained why he was not at the Ballon d’Or ceremony: «It was the club that decided not to go to the Ballon d’Or gala. And I always do what the club tells me to do, they asked me to stay in Madrid and that’s what I did.»
Just 41 points separated Vinícius from Rodri in the final Ballon d’Or vote. This season, the forward faces competition from players such as Mohamed Salah (30 goals scored), compatriot Raphinha (24 goals) and even teammate Kylian Mbappé (28 goals), with all three having, for example, scored more goals than the Brazilian (18).
