FIFA-The Best: Ronaldo plays Vinícius Júnior

Vinícius Júnior has finally been rewarded. Failing to win the France Football 2024 Ballon d’or, the Brazilian international was awarded the FIFA-The Best trophy for best male player of the year 2024, this Tuesday. A more than deserved coronation for the 24-year-old striker, who notably achieved the Liga-Champions League double with Real Madrid. Vinicius Jr’s triumph is also seen as the victory of a player who has been fighting racism in football for years. In any case, that’s what Ronaldo Nazário thinks. The Brazilian legend paid tribute to his young compatriot on social media, stating that “ the best player in the world is black and Brazilian ».

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« And speaking of regaining respect for Brazilian football, look at him. Vinicius Jr, maximum respect! 16 years have passed since the last time the trophy for the best player in the world returned to Brazil. Now rightly in Vini’s hands, it means much more than his decisive role in matches and extraordinary numbers in the 2023-2024 season. His talent would be enough to win the award, but his power goes far beyond the field. We’re talking about one of today’s most valuable players, experiencing racism on television with inconceivable frequency. How many anonymous Vinicius does he represent? How many victims scattered everywhere? A symbol of resistance and resilience, Vini is today also at the head of the anti-racist fight in world football, where impunity is as pernicious as attacks. And those who remain silent are no less racist. The omission – especially from organizations and authorities that have the legal power to confront and punish such practices – only reinforces the culture of erasure and disrespect towards Black people. They tried to erase you, my friend », declared the neo-candidate for the presidency of the Brazilian Federation (CBF).