Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Liveupdated

Ballon d’Or Awards LIVE: Vinicius Jr claims ‘they’re not ready’ as Rodri crowned amid Real Madrid boycott

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner was revealed tonight with Rodri succeeding Lionel Messi

Karl Matchett,Jamie Braidwood
Tuesday 29 October 2024 16:06 GMT
Comments
Ballon d’Or ceremony

Vinicius Jr took to social media to react after finishing second in the Ballon d’Or voting behind Manchester City’s Rodri after Real Madrid led a boycott of Monday night’s ceremony in protest of the result.

Vinicius had been widely tipped to win the men’s award after an outstanding season, but Real Madrid delegation cancelled their trip to the Paris ceremony at the last minute when the “leaked results” of the prestigious award showed Rodri had received the most votes ahead of the Brazilian and Jude Bellingham.

The 24-year-old, who was named Champions League player of the year after playing a starring role in Real Madrid’s 15th European Cup, took to Twitter/X and posted “I’ll do it 10 times if I have to. They’re not ready.” He did not congratulate Rodri on on winning the Ballon d’Or for the first time, with the influential midfielder recognised for his role in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph.

Follow all the reaction from the Ballon d’Or ceremony with our live blog below:

Real Madrid boycott Ballon d’Or with Vinicius Jr set to lose out to Rodri

Real Madrid’s players did not turn up to the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris because they believe star forward Vinicius Jr will be beaten to the top prize by Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri.

According to reports, the Real Madrid delegation cancelled their trip to Monday night’s ceremony at the last minute when the “leaked results” of the prestigious award showed Rodri had received the most votes ahead of Vinicius and Jude Bellingham.

Real Madrid were thrashed 4-0 by rivals Barcelona in Saturday night’s Clasico and there has since been a total blackout of posts on the club’s social media channels, with no acknowledgment of the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Real Madrid boycott Ballon d’Or with Vinicius Jr set to lose out to Rodri

Vinicius Jr had been considered the favourite for the men’s award until the results were ‘leaked’ ahead of the Paris ceremony
Karl Matchett28 October 2024 20:04

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in