Barcelona And Brazil Legend Rivaldo Believes Vinicius Jr Was the Rightful Ballon d'Or Winner
Months after the Ballon d'Or drama, players past and present are still being asked who they believe should have won the 2024 award: Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. or Manchester City midfielder Rodri?
Barcelona legend Rivaldo recently gave his opinion to Sport, siding with his countryman. He believes Vinicius Jr should have scooped the award. He also said that receiving the FIFA The Best Men's Player 2024 did justice to his season.
MORE: Real Madrid Forward Vinicius Jr Could Win Yet Another Big Individual Award In 2024
Rivaldo Critizes Ballon d'Or Voters Decisions
Rivaldo, who won the Ballon d'Or in 1999 while playing for Barcelona, was unhappy with voting for the 2024 Ballon d'Or.
"He deserved to win the Ballon d’Or for his perfect 2024. We must respect the winner, in this case, Rodri, who earned it on his own merits. But as I said, what disappointed me was learning that more than sixty coaches did not include Vini among the top three players, which is incredibly disappointing.”
- Rivaldo on the 2024 Ballon d'Or
Rivaldo did say coaches, but likely misspoke, with votes for the Ballon d'Or taken from 100 journalists from the top FIFA-ranked countries.
1999 Ballon d’Or ceremony - When Rivaldo won the Ballon d'Or#ballondor pic.twitter.com/HAKHHbTc5X
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) August 10, 2023
He's not the first ex-player to say Vinicius Jr. deserved the award over Rodri. The likes of Zinedine Zidane and Clarence Seedorf believe what the Brazilian achieved on the field in 2024 should have been enough for him to lift the trophy.
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