After all this Ballon d’Or story, some will be left with this question: why Rodri and not Vinicius? The answer was provided by the editor-in-chief of “France Football” magazine, Vincent Garcia, quoted by Eurosport.
Rodri (Manchester City / Spain). PHOTO: Facebook
“Obviously, Vinicius suffered a lot from the presence of Bellingham and Carvajal in the Top 5. Mathematically, that took a lot of points away from him. That sums up Real Madrid’s season, which had 3-4 exceptional players and the voters split their choices between them. Rodri benefited from this. We had a lot of pressure from Real Madrid. Because they expected Vinicius to win. I was very unpleasantly surprised by their absence from the galaVincent Garcia said.
Another publication, As from Spain, wanted to explain the criteria on the basis of which the trophy is awarded to the “France Football” magazine. These, three in number, are as follows:
*Individual performance
*Performances and trophies obtained with the team
*Fair play
In the international press it was circulated that this last criterion would also be “WEIGHING” against Vinicius. Because, more than once, the Brazilian was involved in scandals with the supporters of opposing teams which, in turn, turned the Real star into the target of racist attacks. By comparison, Rodri was always a superclass player who saw his football strictly.
Vinicius (Real Madrid). PHOTO: Facebook
What the numbers say about the two rivals for the “Ballon d’Or 2024” trophy
Vinicius (Real Madrid / Brazil)
*In the previous season, 2023-2024, he collected 39 games, 24 goals and 11 assists for Real Madrid in all competitions.
*At Copa America 2024, played in the four matches of the Brazilian national team, scoring twice. Brazil exited the competition in the quarterfinals.
*He won the Champions League, the title in Spain and the Spanish Super Cup last season, and in the current season he has already won the UEFA Super Cup.
Rodri (Manchester City / Spain)
*In the previous season, 2023-2024, he made 50 appearances for Manchester City, scoring 9 times and providing 14 assists. We are talking about some impressive numbers for a defensive midfielder.
*For the Spanish national team, Rodri played in six of the seven matches in Euro 2024, having an assist in the victory against Georgia (4-1).
*He won Euro 2024 with Spain, and with Manchester City he won the Club World Cup, the European Super Cup and the Premier League title.
