Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior lost in the 2024 Ballon d’Or race to Manchester City midfielder Rodri and this has sparked reactions from all quarters.
While some fans are adamant that Rodri is a worthy winner, some have insisted Vinicius should have the award. The Editor of France Football has broken his silence on the controversy surrounding Vinicius Jr following the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Vinicius Junior and Real Madrid failed to make an appearance at the event and their decision was based on the premise that they had been told Vini Jr would not be awarded the Ballon d’Or despite France Football insisting nobody knew the identity of the winner.
After the ceremony, France Football’s Chief Editor Vincent Garcia, was asked to clarify the situation and he was vocal.
Rodri kisses the trophy as he receives the Ballon d’Or award during the 2024 Ballon d’Or France Football award ceremony (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
Garcia remained adamant that Vini and Real Madrid wouldn’t have known Rodri had won, and even took a sly dig at the Spanish giants.
“I can guarantee you that no one from City or Real Madrid knew, maybe they had a feeling. Maybe El Clásico didn’t help. I don’t know,” he said.
“It was close. Vinícius probably suffered from the presence of Jude Bellingham & Dani Carvajal in Top 5.”
Garcia claimed that individuals at Madrid insisted they were told the winner prior to the ceremony, however, after France Football refused they assumed Vini had missed out.
“Real Madrid put pressure on me to know if Vini won, and maybe my silence made them think Viní lost, so they didn’t show up,” he explained.
“I’m unpleasantly surprised, but I don’t wanna spend the night talking about it, I want to talk about our winner, Rodri.”
Garcia also revealed that Madrid weren’t the only club that wanted pre-warning over the ceremony’s winners.
“All favorite clubs insisted on having the information of who won, they didn’t know, we made it very clear, this year, the winner will not be notified before.”
