The 2024 Ballon d’Or will have its share of surprises in store. While Vinicius Jr was widely heralded as the winner, it was ultimately Rodri who took home the prestigious trophy.
France Football has revealed the results of African journalists’ votes for the 2024 Ballon d’Or.
Vinicius Junior comes first with 12 votes, against 6 for Rodri. In the overall ranking, the Spaniard came first, winning his first Ballon d’Or.
Vinicius did not win the 2024 Ballon d’Or due to certain factors
If Vini’s failure is causing a lot of talk, it can be explained by a few factors.
First of all, competition within Real Madrid, notably with Bellingham and Carvajal, dispersed the votes.
Then, the mixed performances of Vinicius Jr in the Brazilian selection, notably during the Copa América, weighed in the balance.
Finally, the behavior of the Brazilian player, sometimes considered provocative, may have cost him points in terms of fair play.
Rodri, for his part, benefited from his excellent run with Manchester City and his MVP title at the Euro.
Now, Vinicius Jr knows what to work on even more, if he wants to lift this trophy one day.
In the meantime, the Brazilian should continue to please his thousands of fans around the world with his whimsical and artistic football.
41 points separate Rodri and Vinicius
41 points which separate the winner of the Ballon d’Or, the Spaniard from Manchester City Rodri, from his runner-up, the Brazilian from Real Madrid Vinicius Jr.
This is not an absolute record in the history of the trophy. But this is little compared to the new scale which this year awards 15 points to the player cited in first place.
7 is the number of players, excluding Rodri and Vinicius Jr., who have been cited at least once in first place in the ranking.
Among them, three Real players stand out: Jude Bellingham (first 5 places), Dani Carvajal (4) and Toni Kroos (2).
Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Lautaro Martinez and… Ademola Lookman have all been cited once as number 1.
