Vinicius Jr’s remarkable performances at Real Madrid have put the 24-year-old forward as the odds-on favourite to claim his first Ballon d’Or when the award for the best player in the world is announced in Paris on Monday night.
Vinicius scored 24 goals and provided 11 assists in 39 appearances that were key to help the Spanish powerhouse to a near perfect 2023-24 campaign in which they reclaimed the LaLiga title and grabbed a record-extending 15th European Cup.
The Brazilian scored in the Champions League final and was named the competition’s best player.
Bookmakers backed Vinicius to win the award ahead of Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri and Englishman Jude Bellingham.
He is aiming to become the first Brazilian since Kaka in 2007 to win the award — and just the third person not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to claim it since 2008. This will be the first time since 2003 in which neither Messi nor Ronaldo made the final 30-man list of nominees.
Portugal’s Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, also failed to receive a nomination last year after moving to Saudi Arabia. Messi, who won for a record eighth time in 2023, missed out despite Argentina’s Copa America triumph.
Previous winners Luka Modric (2018) and Karim Benzema (2022) are also not in France Football’s shortlist.
Vinicius’ closest challenger appears to be Rodri, the player Pep Guardiola said is “the best midfielder in the world”. He was instrumental in helping City win their fourth consecutive Premier League trophy and was named the best player at this year’s European Championship after helping Spain lift a record-extending fourth title.
Bellingham was named LaLiga MVP after scoring a career best 19 goals in a sparkling debut campaign and helping England reach the Euro 2024 final. However, despite a lacklustre Copa America campaign with struggling Brazil, Vinicius’ stellar performances in the Champions League have put him in pole position.
He became the first Brazilian to score in two Champions League finals, having scored the only goal in the 2022 final against Liverpool and again this year in the 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund.
In the women’s Ballon d’Or Feminin, Champions League winners Barcelona have six nominees , including last year’s winner Aitana Bonmati and two-time winner Alexia Putellas.
Meanwhile, four people have been arrested and questioned in Spain on suspicion of conducting an online hate campaign encouraging fans to racially abuse Vinicius Jr, police said on Thursday.
The men were detained then released as investigations continued into social media slogans which urged fans to wear face masks so they could insult the black Brazil international without being identified, police added.
They were the first detentions announced by police linked to the campaign, which set out to target Viniciusthe player in the build-up to the Spanish capital’s derby in September at Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano stadium.
It used the hashtag #MetropolitanoConMascarilla (Metropolitano with a Mask). Vinicius, who has faced abuse at a number of matches, last year called LaLiga and Spain racist after receiving slurs from the stands during a match at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium.
In a landmark case, three Valencia football fans were each sentenced to eight months in prison in June for hate crimes against Vinicius Jr — the first conviction for racist insults in a soccer stadium in Spain.
Spain’s police did not name the four men. Under Spanish legal procedures, a judge will investigate and eventually consider whether there’s enough evidence to proceed to trial.
Police said the online campaign went viral, raising “significant social alarm”. The investigation remains open and could lead to more arrests, the force added.
Reuters
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