While he was the big favorite to be awarded the 2024 Ballon d’Or, the Brazilian Vinicius Jr saw this title escape him for three very specific reasons.
It is perhaps the Ballon d’Or that has given us the most surprises in a very long time. While the entire football world expected Vinicius Jr to be crowned best player of the year, it was finally Rodri who was elected. However, strong in his performances in La Liga and the Champions League, the star of the Canarinha saw the European champion unexpectedly overtake him, while even Real Madrid already saw him as the winner. But if we rely on the latest explanations formulated by the Spanish media in particular, the Spaniard’s coronation is a little more understandable.
First, Vinicius Jr pays for having other “competitors” as teammates. “It was close. Vinicius surely suffered from the presence of Bellingham and Carvajal in the top 5,” revealed Vincent Garcia, head of France Football, on the L’Equipe channel. The votes were thus divided and dispersed between several Madrid players, and especially between Vinicius and Bellingham.
Vinicius Jr lacks fair play?
Then, there is the fact that in the selection, Vinicius Jr was not particularly brilliant, signing a rather mediocre Copa América while he was supposed to be the Brazilian leader. Prohibitive performances in the yellow jersey of Brazil, where Rodri was elected MVP of the Euro. And international competitions are particularly important in this kind of individual distinctions. If Vinicius Jr was the big favorite in June, the club competitions finished, the summer selection tournaments changed the situation a little.
Finally, there is another criterion that weighed heavily in the balance, and which has especially gained weight this year: fair play and exemplarity. Often considered a provocative player, with small gestures that are not particularly noble to his opponents sometimes, and a player who contests quite vehemently with the referees, Vinicius Jr has therefore lost a lot of points on this side. Quite the opposite of a Rodri whose behavior is rather exemplary. Vinicius Jr therefore knows what he has to do…