Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - Ballon d'Or organisers have responded to the controversial absence of Vinicius Jr and his fellow Real Madrid stars from Monday's ceremony.
Despite being tipped as one of the favourites to win
football's greatest prize, the Brazilian forward came second place
to Manchester City's Rodri.
After reports had emerged earlier in the day that Vinicius
would not be lifting the iconic golden ball, Real Madrid pulled out of the
event.
The editor-in-chief of France Football, who are in charge of
the award - has given his verdict on why the Brazilian missed out and commented
on his controversial absence.
'Obviously, Vinicius surely suffered from the presence of
Bellingham and Carvajal in the top 5 because, mathematically, that took away
some points from him. This also sums up Real Madrid's season, which took
between three and four players and the judges shared their decisions between
them, which benefited Rodri,' explained Vincent Garcia.
He added: 'I had a lot of pressure from Real Madrid but, as
with other clubs, I was always clear, fair and perhaps my silence pushed them
to the limit.
'But it was the same as with the others. I was very
unpleasantly surprised by his absence.'
RMC reported that Madrid president Florentino Perez was
furious with the decision.
Journalist Jose Luis Sanchez claimed a 50-strong party was
scheduled to jet out, only for them to cancel after discovering Vinicius would
not win.
Sources at the club told ESPN Brazil that the snub was
'historic robbery'.
Marca also reported that Madrid insiders have furiously
declared 'the Ballon d'Or no longer exists for us'.
A statement from Madrid to AFP said: 'If the award
criteria doesn't give it to Vinicius as the winner, those same criteria should
point to Carvajal as the winner.
'As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d'Or-UEFA
does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not
respected.'
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