Vinícius Júnior and his Real Madrid teammates will not travel to Paris for the Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday, because they believe Manchester City midfielder Rodri will receive the award.
Vinícius, 24, was a leading contender to win the 2024 men’s prize after leading Madrid to a LaLiga and Champions League double last season.
The Brazil international and his fellow Madrid nominees — Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Kylian Mbappé, Antonio Rüdiger, Federico Valverde, as well as Andriy Lunin, nominated for best goalkeeper, Arda Güler, nominated for the Kopa Trophy, and Carlo Ancelotti, nominated for best coach — would not be attending the event, organized by the magazine France Football, in collaboration with UEFA.
One club source considers it “unfair” and “a disgrace” that Vinícius would not win the award. Not attending the ceremony is a protest in the form of not travelling in order not to boycott what another club source considers “a historic robbery.”
Vinícius scored 15 goals in LaLiga last season, as well as six in the Champions League, including in Madrid’s semifinal win over Bayern Munich and in the final against Borussia Dortmund.
