Courtesy: X
Vinicius Jr, the Real Madrid forward, is reportedly set to miss the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris alongside his teammates as they expect Manchester City’s Rodri to win the prestigious award. The Ballon d’Or ceremony is set to commence at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris from 7 PM GMT onwards on Monday, October 28, where some of the top footballers and managers from all over the world will be present, to watch the best of the best get awarded for their performances last season.
Notably, after being shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or 2024, Vinicius Jr has been one of the hottest picks to win the award, but since the Brazilian is not making his way to Paris for the ceremony later tonight, it is highly likely that he won’t be winning it. In the last season, the 24-year-old was an integral part of the Real Madrid side that won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga, scoring six and 15 goals in both the competitions respectively.
Vinicius Jr could become first Brazilian after Kaka to win Ballon d'Or since 2007
As per the sources with the ESPN, Vinicius Jr, and his teammates, including Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Antonio Rudiger, Dani Carvajal, and Federico Valverde, along with two nominees Andriy Lunin and Arda Guler for best goal-keeper and Kopa Trophy respectively, will be missing the Ballon d’Or ceremony altogether. Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is nominated for the best coach award, won’t be attending the event either.
It was just last week when Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media about expecting Vinicius Jr to win the Ballon d’Or 2024 award with the feeling around Real Madrid being quite the same. If Vinicius Jr goes on to win the award in Paris tonight then he will be the first Brazilian to lay claim to being the best footballer in the world since Kaka in 2007.
Moreover, this will be the first in over two decades when neither Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, the two of the greatest footballers of all-time, are shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or.
