Known for his outspoken personality, Cristiano Ronaldo recently hit the headlines with comments on the 2024 Ballon d’Or award. Speaking during the Globe Soccer Awards, Ronaldo claimed that Vinicius Junior deserved the award over the Manchester City midfielder as the Brazilian won the Champions League and also scored in the final.
The Portugal star had said, “It was unfair in my opinion. I say here in front of everybody. They give it to Rodri, he deserved it too, but they should have given it to Vinicius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final.”
“You know these galas, they always do the same thing. This is why I love Globe Soccer Awards, they are honest,” he added.
Responding to Ronaldo’s comments, Rodri expressed his disappointment and pointed out the rules of the award. Speaking to Diario AS, he said, “A surprise, really, because he knows better than anyone how this award works and, above all, how the winner is chosen.”
“This year the journalists who vote have considered that I should win it. Probably, these same journalists were the ones who at some point voted for him to win, and I imagine that then he would agree,” he added.
Regarded as one of the best midfielders in football history, Rodri also helped Spain win the Euro 2024 title this year, and was also named as Player of the Tournament. He was also the first Manchester City to win the Ballon d’Or.
Meanwhile, Vinicius won the La Liga, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup with Madrid. He was also adjudged as The Best FIFA Men’s Player in 2024. After Real Madrid were informed that Vinicius would not be winning the Ballon d’Or award, the entire team pulled out of the gala in Paris.
The award is given every year by an international jury of journalists, with one representative per country, from the top-100 in the latest FIFA rankings. Each journalist chooses ten players in descending order of merit from a 30-member shortlist, nominated by the editorial staff of L’Equipe. The ten selected players are awarded points, and the award is given to the player with the most points.
