9 crazy stats that show why Vinicius Junior was robbed of the Ballon d’Or
Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior has been beaten to the 2024 Ballon d’Or by Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
Vinicius looked set to follow in the footsteps of modern-day Los Blancos icons Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema in breaking up Messi’s eight-time dominance of the golden ball, while he was hoping to join legendary Brazilians including Rivaldo, Ronaldo Nazario, Ronaldinho and Kaka in being voted the best footballer in the world.
Reports for weeks and months had suggested that Vinicius was set to claim this year’s award, which is handed out by French outlet France Football, but it appears those reports were wrong.
News broke on Monday after that Real Madrid have snubbed the ceremony, with club president Florentino Perez, manager Carlo Ancelotti, Vinicius himself and fellow star Jude Bellingham all making a late decision not to go to the glitzy Paris event.
“I have to talk about Marta, who is the greatest to ever play the [women’s game],” Vinicius told CNN earlier this year, having made no secret of his ambition to claim what’s widely regarded as the most prestigious individual accolade in football.
“I have great affection for her because I believe she changed the sport and put women’s football on the level it deserves. Women’s football is growing day by day and Marta was one of the pioneers. Marta is for us is what Pele was for everyone in Brazil, like Ayrton Senna, she’s from a level where there is one person in every million.
“And as for the men’s players, I have Kaka as an example, I have Ronaldo who won the award twice, I have Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, a lot of Brazilian players who have won the Ballon d’Or.
“But without a doubt, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are the ones I’m closest with, who tell me every day that I have to win the Ballon d’Or.
“I was with Ronaldo just now when I was in Ibiza and trained at his house and he told me: ‘Train here a few more days, so you are closer to the Ballon d’Or.’
“They are players who did incredible things and to be able to compete for the Ballon d’Or and to win an award that they won, that would be something really incredible.”
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We’ve rounded up nine stats that sum up just how good Vinicius Junior’s year was – bearing in mind the eligibility period from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024, so not counting anything from the 2024-25 campaign so far.
– Vinicius was Real Madrid’s top goalscorer with 24 goals in all competitions as they claimed both the La Liga title and Champions League – the only club to win both a major domestic honour and a European trophy last season.
– Even by Real Madrid’s lofty standards, this was one of their all-time great seasons. It’s only the third time since 1960 that they’ve won La Liga and the Champions League in the same campaign, while only twice in history did they better their tally of 95 points (with a joint-best one league defeat). Being the star player in such a side is no mean feat.
– The Brazilian also notched 11 assists, making it 35 goal contributions in just 39 appearances for Los Blancos in all competitions – which averages out as a goal or assist every 88 minutes.
– While those total numbers aren’t exceptional – he didn’t feature in the top 10 players in Europe’s five major leagues for goal contributions, for example – it’s worth considering he actually missed a big chunk of the season. He actually only played 1,872 minutes in La Liga – just over half (54%) of the total available, making his tally of 15 La Liga goals and five La Liga assists much more impressive in context.
– It was in Europe where Vini really came alive – and it’s that stage that’s particularly pivotal when you look at the vast majority of the Ballon d’Or winners over the past 20 years or so. He’s already been named UEFA’s Champions League Player of the Season for 2023-24. Rodri, by contrast, was eliminated by Vinicius’ Madrid at the quarter-final stage.
– In the Champions League last term, Vinicius notched six goals and five assists in just 10 appearances, averaging a goal contribution every 81 minutes.
– He only drew a blank in terms of goals or assists in two of those 10 appearances, but notched two goals and three assists in three group stage outings against Napoli and Braga and made a telling contribution in each of the four knockout stages – a goal against RB Leipzig in the Round of 16 second leg, two assists against Manchester City in the quarter-final first legs, two goals in the semi-final first leg against Bayern and the all-important clincher in the final against Borussia Dortmund.
– It wasn’t just in Europe that Vinicius stepped up on the big occasion. He notched a hat-trick in Real Madrid’s 4-1 Supercopa final victory over Barcelona back in January and scored and assisted in April’s 3-2 El Clasico win, which completed a La Liga double over their historic rivals.
– You might argue that it was his own fault for picking up two yellow cards, but Vinicius was crucially suspended as Brazil exited the Copa America with a penalty shootout defeat to Uruguay. He also scored twice in their only Copa America victory, over Paraguay.