France Football’s chief editor, Vincent Garcia, has shed light on why Vinicius Junior missed out on the Ballon d’Or, which was instead awarded to Manchester City’s Rodri.
Rodri became the first Spaniard since 1960 to win the prestigious award in a shocking announcement on Monday night.
Vinicius was initially seen as the favourite after his remarkable season leading Real Madrid to both league and Champions League titles. However, as the ceremony approached in the afternoon, it became clear Rodri was instead being crowned football’s new king. Why Rodri beat Vinicius to Ballon d’Or The Manchester City anchorman later received the trophy from legendary striker George Weah in a glittering Paris event Real Madrid boycotted. Garcia suggested that competition from Vinicius’ own teammates may have ultimately impacted his Ballon d’Or chances. After the ceremony, he said via Madrid Universal: “It was close. Vinícius probably suffered from the presence of Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal in the top 5.” He added via Madrid Zone: “Real Madrid put huge pressure on me to know if Vini won, and maybe my silence made them think Viní lost, so they didn’t show up. I’m unpleasantly surprised, but I don’t wanna spend the night talking about RM, I want to talk about our wonderful winner, Rodri.” MSN
