“They also stole the Ballon d’Or”, another scandal resurfaces

The circle of big disappointments with the Ballon d'Or grew last Monday. While he was announced as the No. 1 favorite to succeed Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr. saw the trophy slip from his hands in favor of Rodri, the Spanish midfielder from Manchester City. A disillusionment for him and a real scandal for his club Real Madrid, which decided to boycott the ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet.

If the Brazilian striker will surely have other opportunities to put his name on the list, some have not had this chance, like Franck Ribéry in 2013 or Wesley Sneijder three years earlier. The former Dutch international has still not digested the 2010 edition, then organized by FIFA and not by France Footballand the coronation of Lionel Messi in front of Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.

A Ballon d’Or which also caused controversy

“They also stole the Ballon d’Or from meremembers the ex-attacking midfielder, who finished fourth that year while winning the Champions League, Serie A, Italian Cup, Italian Super Cup, European Super Cup and the Club World Cup with Inter Milan, also reaching the World Cup final with the Netherlands. But honestly, I'm glad people are still talking about it in 2024.”

“Fourteen years later, people still say to me, ‘Wesley, you said you were flying that year.’”he adds in comments relayed by Relief. Wesley Sneijder may have had it all the worse since he came first in the journalists' vote, but the journalists were no longer the only ones making up the jury. The captains and selectors had favored Lionel Messi and the coronation of Spain in South Africa.