Vinicius Jnr narrowly missed out on the Ballon d’Or and boycotted the ceremony but spoke out soon after Rodri’s victory with a clear desire for the future as team-mates rallied around him
Vinicius Jnr has underlined his desire to claim the Ballon d’Or
Vinicius Jnr broke his silence after boycotting the Ballon d’Or awards and claimed he was ready to go again to land the award – adding “they’re not ready”.
The Real Madrid star was among the favourites to win the award in Paris on Monday night, but decided not to attend when news emerged that he’d missed out to Rodri with the Brazilian instead finishing in second.
Vinicius had played a leading role as Real claimed La Liga and the Champions League. He scored in the European Cup final but was beaten to the individual accolade by Rodri, who himself won the Premier League with Manchester City and the Euros with Spain.
Real though were left fuming that their player had been overlooked and decided to boycott the awards. No individual associated with the club attended the award ceremony with fellow top ten finishers Kylian Mbappe, Dani Carvajal and Jude Bellingham all missing.
Vinicius finally broke his silence, less than an hour after Rodri’s victory had been confirmed, with a tweet. He clearly underlined his desire to go again in pursuit of the individual accolade.
The Spanish club had made it clear that they felt disrespected by the award’s organisers and UEFA following their snub, which was by no means unfair given the individual success that Rodri had experienced.
They told AFP: “If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner. 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.”
A number of Vinicius’ compatriots have rallied around him, backing the player’s talent and also suggesting the result was unjust. West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta, who once played with the Real star, said: “Just so you know that I’m proud to say that I’m your friend, that I admire you and root for you more than any victory of mine!
Several Brazilian players criticised the awarding of the Ballon d’Or ( AFP via Getty Images)
“That I admire your story and the person you’ve become! You’re the best! Even if they say otherwise! I love you and we’re closer than ever! Always moving forward!!!”
Richarlison claimed the award was handed out by “criteria no one can understand”. He added: “Vini not getting that Ballon d’Or was embarrassing, and the only person who lost today was football.”
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