Ronaldo feels Vinicius Jr. should have received the Ballon d’Or

Cristiano Ronaldo expressed his opinion on Friday on the choice to give the men’s Ballon d’Or prize to Rodri of Manchester City, arguing that Vinicius Jr. of Real Madrid and Brazil should have won instead.

Vinicius, 24, helped Real Madrid win both the La Liga and the Champions League last season with 24 goals in 39 games across all competitions. He also scored in the team’s victory against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final.

However, Rodri won the trophy in October after the midfielder helped City win the Premier League for the fourth consecutive season and then guided Spain to victory in Euro 2024.

Real Madrid, Vinicius’ team, chose to skip the awards event since they expected him to lose the men’s prize.

At the Globe Soccer Awards, Ronaldo remarked, “I truly love the way they do their career, (Jude) Bellingham, Lamine (Yamal) now, this young generation, Vinicius, they do a fantastic job.”

“I believe that Vinicius was deserving of the golden ball. The five-time winner of the award, the Portuguese captain, went on to declare, “I say it here in front of everyone, it was unfair.”

“They gave it to Rodri, he deserved it too, but I think they should have given it to Vinicius because he won a Champions League.”

A group of journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations vote to determine who gets the Ballon d’Or.