The 2024 Ballon d’or ceremony witnessed Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri take the prestigious men’s award on Monday, October 28 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. (More Football News
The 28-year-old beat Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr to the prize, despite the Brazilian heading into the event as a red-hot favourite.
Vinicius, with 24 goals and had 11 assists to his name helped Madrid win the La Liga, the UEFA Champions League as well as the Spanish Cup, and was backed by plenty to take the award.
However, in a shocking turn of events for the 24-year-old, the Ballon d’or was awarded to Rodri, who won the Premier League, UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup with Manchester City.
Upon getting some light on the Vinicius matter - discovering that the Brazilian would not be claiming the award ahead of the ceremony, the representatives from Real Madrid opted to boycott the event and claimed that the club felt disrespected.
Vinicius Jr broke his silence on the matter and posted a resolute message on X (formerly known as Twitter) shortly after Rodri was announced the Ballon d’or winner.
“Eu farei 10x se for preciso. Eles não estão preparados. [I’ll do it 10x if I have to. They’re not ready.],” the Brazilian wrote.
The post also garnered over 115 million views, with people across the globe reposting the same on their respective social media handles.
Vinicius has started the 2024-25 season for Real Madrid, scoring eight times and providing seven assists in all competitions.
