Br azilian star forward Vinicius Junior has posted a strong message on social media after losing the 2024 Ballon d'Or to Spain's Rodri.
"I will do 10 times more if necessary. They are not ready," Vinicius wrote just minutes after Rodri received the 2024 Ballon d'Or on Monday night in Paris.
According to beIN Sports, Vinicius's message means that he will strive even harder to win the Ballon d'Or in the future because he believed he deserved to win this year but was not awarded.
Hours before the award ceremony on Monday, a list spread on social media showing the final standings of the 30 players nominated for the Ballon d'Or, with Vini at the top and Rodri second. But a few hours later, Spanish media reported that all members of Vini's club Real Madrid would not be in Paris for the award ceremony.
The leaked list predicted positions of 28 players correctly, except for the top two, as Rodri ultimately won the award, while Vini only won the Silver Ball.
Before the award ceremony, media outlets and European bookmakers predicted that Vini would win the award. A British bookmaker even offered odds in favor of Vinicius that were 131 times higher than those for Rodri. Spanish newspaper Marca published an article titled, "Vinicius, the Ballon d’Or winner."
According to Relevo, Vini told Barcelona midfielder Gavi during the El Clasico on Oct. 26 that he would win the Ballon d’Or. The Br azilian star even held a party with his close friends from Sunday evening to Monday morning. He also promised to give Rolex watches to his Real Madrid teammates. But after the party, Vini received news that he would not win the award.
At the same time, the organizers said that the 2024 Ballon d’Or was the first time they did not announce the result in advance for the winner. The head of the organizing committee, Marc Las, confirmed that only two people knew the result in advance, he and the editor-in-chief of France Football magazine which presents the annual award that recognizes the best footballers in the world.
After the ceremony, many of Vinicius’s teammates criticized the award and encouraged him.
Former midfielder Toni Kroos posted a picture of Vinicius captioned: "The best". Br azilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta commented that Vinicius was "excellent, no matter what people say."
Wolverhampton midfielder Mario Lemina, who was not Vinicius’s teammate, also commented: "Rodri is the best midfielder in the world yes. But the best player in the world right now is Vinicius no doubt. Bye football."
Upon knowing the result, Real Madrid’s board of directors decided to cancel their plans to go to Paris.
The Ballon d’Or is considered the most prestigious individual award in football, awarded since 1956 to European players, and since 1995 it has been extended to international players. Lionel Messi holds the record for eight wins, in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
For the men's award, journalists from each country with a team in the FIFA top 100 will be selected to form a jury for the 30 nominees. Each journalist will select 10 players from the nominees, with points awarded to each player, respectively, of 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points. The player with the highest total points wins the award.