France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia has justified Vinicius Junior’s surprise loss of the 2024 Ballon d’Or, saying his Real Madrid teammates were the reason.
The vote decided the award in favour of Rodri, making him the first Spaniard to win the award since 1960, and the third after Alfredo Di Stefano and Luis Suarez.
When Garcia was asked about the controversy surrounding Vinicius’ failure to win and what the criteria were, he replied, “For me, it seems that he was affected by the presence of Jude Bellingham and Carvajal in the competition and in the top five.”
He added, “Because of that, Vinicius lost some points, and this also speaks for Real Madrid, as the team includes 3 or 4 great players and the jury was divided, which ultimately worked in Rodri’s favour.”
As for Real Madrid not attending the ceremony, Garcia said, “No one knew who won, Real Madrid put pressure on me to reveal who would win, but I kept quiet.”
“I was really surprised by Real Madrid’s absence, it wasn’t a good thing, but it seems part of their disappointment,” he concluded.
It is worth noting that Jude Bellingham came in third place in the final ranking of the 2024 Ballon d’Or, while Dani Carvajal came in fourth, Erling Haaland fifth and Kylian Mbappe sixth.
