Ballon d'Or Organisers Break Silence On Real's 'Boycott Over Vinicius Snub'

Vin­cius Jr., along with fellow Real Madrid nominees Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Dani Carvajal, and club president Florentino Pérez, skipped the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony held in Paris on October 28. Reuters reported that Real Madrid cancelled their delegation's plans to attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris on Monday at the last minute after the club understood that their Brazil forward Vinicius Jr would not win the award.

Bookmakers had 24-year-old Vinicius Jr, the Champions League player of the year, as the heavy odds-on favourite to claim his first Ballon d'Or, which is presented to the best player in the world, ahead of Manchester City's Spain midfielder Rodri, 28, and Real's England international Jude Bellingham.

ðŸšèâœè Real Madrid are named the Men’s Club of the Year at the Ballon d’Or.

No one from the club shows up at the ceremony as they all support Vini Jr. pic.twitter.com/IFAKnRor6J — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 28, 2024