‘They’re not ready,’ Vinicius breaks silence after losing Ballon d’Or award
Brazil and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior has reacted after coming second in the 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or award.
Vincius wrote on X: “I’ll do it 10x if I have to. They’re not ready,” in a post that instantly went viral on social media.
Recall Real Madrid boycotted the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris after the Spanish club announced its delegation would not attend because of what it perceived as a snub of Vinicius.
“If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to
Carvajal as the winner,” Real Madrid told AFP.
“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.”
READ ALSO: Man City midfielder Rodri wins men’s Ballon d’Or
The Madrid contingent of nominees also included Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger, Fede Valverde and Jude Bellingham.
The winner of the Ballon d’Or is chosen from the shortlist by an international jury of 100 specialist journalists.
Its organisers, the Amaury group which owns the L’Equipe sports daily and France Football magazine, denied to AFP that the name of the successor to last year’s winner Lionel Messi had leaked and insisted that “no player or club” knew in advance who had won.
Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri was awarded the men’s Ballon d’Or on Monday after winning a fourth consecutive Premier League title and Euro 2024.
The decision to award the prize for the world’s best player to the deep-lying midfielder came as a surprise, with Real Madrid’s Liga and Champions League double winner Vinicius Junior widely seen as the pre-ceremony favourite.