Real Madrid, Brazil players lash out at Ballon d'Or after Vinicius snub
Vinicius Junior's club and international teammates have expressed support for the attacker and anger at the apparently flawed Ballon d'Or voting process after Rodri was crowned the world's best player on Monday.
Real Madrid released a statement after boycotting the ceremony, claiming the Ballon d'Or and UEFA, the latter of which acts as co-organizer of the event with magazine France Football, showed no respect to the club and that it "does not go where it is not respected."
The Ballon d'Or result was a "historic robbery," a club source told ESPN's Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez. Vinicius offered no congratulations to Rodri while he wrote on X: "I'll do it 10x if I have to. They're not ready."
Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga declared Vinicius' snub was "football politics" on X, adding that his teammate is "the best player in the world and no award can say otherwise."
Aurelien Tchouameni echoed Vinicius' belief that the football community is "not ready" for what the Brazilian will do next. Defender Eder Militao chimed in, saying, "You are the best and no one can take that away from you! The best!"
In the statement released Monday, Real Madrid said that if Vinicius didn't satisfy the award criteria, then right-back Dani Carvajal - who won La Liga and the Champions League with the club before being a key part of Spain's Euro 2024 triumph with Rodri - should've collected the Ballon d'Or.
Real Madrid dominated the higher spots in the Ballon d'Or rankings. Jude Bellingham followed Vinicius in third place, while Carvajal (fourth), Kylian Mbappe (sixth), and the now-retired Toni Kroos (ninth) finished in the top 10.
Prominent figures from Brazilian soccer have also expressed surprise and dismay at the Ballon d'Or result. Kaka was the last player from the country to win the award in 2007, with Neymar finishing third on two occasions (2015 and 2017).
"Don't get me wrong, Rodri is a great player who deserves to be among the best," Tottenham Hotspur's Richarlison argued on Instagram, with translation from ESPN. "But Vini not winning this Ballon d'Or was embarrassing, and the only thing that lost today was football."
Brazil icon Marta, the top scorer across the country's men's and women's teams, posted an angry rant on Instagram. "I waited a whole year to see Vini Junior deservedly be recognized as the current best player," she said in the video. "And now you tell me that they are not giving him the Ballon d'Or to him? What Ballon d'Or is that!"
West Ham United's Lucas Paqueta, who played with Vinicius at Flamengo, said on Instagram that he roots for the 24-year-old "more than any victory of mine" and admires his journey to become the best - "even if they say otherwise!"
Dutch great Clarence Seedorf suggested Vinicius missing out on the Ballon d'Or was due to some underlying issues between UEFA and Real Madrid. The Spanish club has won six of the last 11 Champions League finals.
“I think there are problems between Real Madrid and UEFA, which affected some things in the results," Seedorf told TNT Sports, according to The Athletic.
"Vinicius Junior is the one who definitely deserves the award. It is a shame," he added.