 "Brazil forward Vinicius Jr was widely considered a strong favourite for the 2024 Ballon d'Or award after helping Real Madrid win LaLiga as well as the UEFA Champions League last season. Reuters")
Norwegian chess legend Magnus Carlsen threw his weight behind Brazilian football star Vinicius Jr after the latter did not win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in Paris on Monday. Real Madrid forward Vini was considered a strong favourite for the main award in the 68th annual Ballon d’Or ceremony after helping the Spanish giants win the UEFA Champions League for a record-extending 15th time as well as the 2023-24 edition of LaLiga.
Ballon d’Or 2024 full rankings, winners
Instead, the award went to Spanish midfielder Rodri after he helped Manchester City retain the Premier League title and later helped La Roja win the Euro this year with a victory over England in the final.
Vinicius finished second on the Ballon d’Or 2024 rankings with teammates Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal finishing third and fourth respectively. Rodri’s City teammate Erling Haaland, who is the leading goal-scorer in the current season of the Premier League, finished at the fifth spot.
Read | Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid boycott Ballon d’Or: How is the award winner chosen?
Carlsen, currently the top-ranked chess player in the world, was among those who throwing their weight behind the 24-year-old Brazilian forward after his snub at the annual football award ceremony presented by French magazine France Football since 1956.
The former world chess champion posted an image of Vini shutting his ears out accompanied by a caption that simply had an emoji of a gold medal.
Vini not winning the award led to an angry response from Real Madrid, who chose to boycott the event in protest. Vini’s Madrid teammate Eduardo Camavinga slammed his snub as “football politics” while adding that the Brazilian was the “best player in the world”.
Read: Why did Ronaldo miss the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony and abstain from voting?
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, however won the Johan Cruyff Trophy after being named men’s coach of the year.
As for other awards, Barcelona women’s Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon d’Or Féminin while Lamine Yamal from the men’s team won the Kopa Trophy for the best player under the age of 21.