On the morning of October 29, the 2024 Ballon d'Or award ceremony was held in Paris, France. While Vinicius almost led the race until the last day, Rodri was the real owner of the award.
Last season, the collective achievements of Rodri and Vinicius were quite balanced. While Vinicius shone to help Real Madrid win La Liga, Champions League, European Super Cup... Rodri also helped Man City conquer the Premier League and win Euro 2024 with Spain.
In terms of individual achievements, Vinicius won the title of Best Player of the Champions League and is also a leading pillar of Real Madrid. Rodri is also not far behind with the title of Best Player of Euro 2024 and is a crucial factor for both Man City and Spain.
Many people do not notice that UEFA's homepage has posted 3 criteria for voting for the Golden Ball. The first is individual achievements and impressive performances. The second is achievements and contributions to the collective. In these two criteria, Vinicius and Rodri appear to be extremely balanced and it is difficult to say who is really superior to the other.
But in the third criterion of class and fair play, Rodri seems to be far ahead of his opponents. The Man City midfielder is famous for his simple lifestyle off the field and does not use social media. Although he plays in the defensive midfield position, the Man City star is not the type of player who plays dirty and destroys.
Meanwhile, Vinicius seems to have not reached the level of class and fair play. Despite constantly affirming that he “just wants to play football”, Vinicius acts in the opposite way.
There were many matches where the Real Madrid striker played dirty, bumped shoulders, and provoked both the opposing players and fans. Off the field, the Brazilian striker continuously criticized his opponents and the entire country of Spain for being “racist”.
The Golden Ball is an award voted by prestigious sports journalists. Obviously, Vinicius's bad actions have lost him points in the eyes of everyone and are probably the main reason for the Brazilian star's defeat to Rodri.
