Real Madrid have boycotted the 2024 Ballon d’Or award after reports emerged that Vinicius Jr will not be crowned winner.
According to Fabrizio Romano, all Real Madrid’s nominees for the award will not travel to Paris for the award.
The move followed the shock report that Vinicius Jr, who has been touted as a top favorite to clinch the award, is not the winner.
“Vinicius Jr will NOT travel to Paris as Real Madrid know he will NOT win the Ballon d’Or.
“No one from Real Madrid will attend the ceremony. No Florentino Pérez, no Vini Jr, no Carlo Ancelotti, no Jude Bellingham,” Fabrizio Romano tweets.
Note the organizers of the prestigious football award ceremony had hinted that the winner of the award will only be disclosed at the night of the event in Paris.
However, some reports of a leaked voting result showed Vinicius Jr has polled the highest votes (630) to beat his closest contender Rodri of Manchester City to the laurel.
Also, prior to the award, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti had been expressly vocal and confident on Vinicius Jr’s chances.
Speaking recently, the Italian football veteran said he saw no other contender more qualified to win the award than Vinicius Jr.
“Vinicius Jr is the best in the world and the most qualified for the award. No other player comes close,” he said.
So, the reports that Vinicius Jr will not win the award is coming more of a shock to the Real Madrid boss and the entire club. Real Madrid have the highest number of nominees for the award.
In our earlier report about leaked voting results for the Ballon d’Or nominees, Los Blancos has four players in the top 12 rankings.
German defender Antonio Rudiger was ranked 12th followed by his injured Real Madrid teammate Dani Carvajal in the 11th place. The top three players comprised two Real Madrid stars – Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham – with injured Manchester City star Rodri making the list.
Controversies on Vinicius Jr’s chances of winning 2024 Ballon d’Or
The controversies about who is more qualified to win the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or award seemed to have taken a different twist since the two familiar names – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – who dominated the award for over a decade, are no longer in contention.
Vinicius Jr emerged as a favorite to clinch the award but not without pocket of objections. First, the Brazilian seemed to have only excelled on club level while lacking on the international scene.
Brazil have been falling off the pecking order recently. From a not-so-stellar run in 2026 CONMEBOL World Qualifiers to a deadlock in the 2024 Copa America, the Real Madrid star was found wanting.
Specifically, Vinicius Jr tallied 20 La Liga goals contributions in the build-up to Real Madrid’s La Liga win last season. In the Champions League, he scored 6 goals plus four assists.
He has yet to find the back of the net in five 2024 World Cup qualifiers for Brazil but scored twice in 2024 Copa America before Brazil crashed out of the competition.
His closet rivals for the award – Jude Bellingham and Rodri – seemed to have mustered better performances at the club and international scene. Bellingham scored two goals and reached the final of 2024 Euros with England. He tallied 25 goals contributions in Real Madrid’s La Liga-winning run and nine in the Champions League.
Rodri reached the semifinals of the Champions League and won the Premier League with Manchester City. He also won 2024 Euros with Spain.
Despite his depleted goals and assists, the Spaniard has also been tipped as favorite for the award due to his game-changing impact for club and country in 2024.
With Vinicius Jr ruled out of winning the award, who do you think will be crowned the winner? Let’s know in the comment section.
