Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid boycott Ballon d'Or: How is the award winner chosen?

The 2024 Ballon d’Or award ceremony got into controversy even before being held on Monday in Paris with Real Madrid skipping the event as a mark of protest against midfielder Vinicius Junior not winning the top individual prize in men’s football, The Brazilian Vinicius, 24, was seen as favourite to win Ballon d’Or 2024 award after winning the Champions League and La Liga last season with Real Madrid, but a few hours before the event was to take place, the football world was swarmed with reports that the winger will not be winning the Ballon d’Or 2024.

Ballon d’Or 2024 full rankings, winners

Eventually, the Ballon d’Or 2024 award went to Manchester City midfielder Rodri who won the Premier League and Euro 2024 last season. He is the first Manchester City player to win the Ballon d’Or award. The women’s Ballon d’Or award went to Liga F club Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati.

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Vinicius finished second in the ranking while Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham came third and defender Dani Carvajal was fourth in the voting. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti won the coach of the year award.

Read: Why did Ronaldo miss the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony and abstain from voting?

Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga called the whole thing “football politics.”

“My brother you are the best player in the world and no award can say otherwise,” the France international wrote on X while also sharing a photo with Vinicius. “Love you my bro.”

FOOTBALL POLITICS ❌

My brother you are the best player in the world and no award can say otherwise. Love you my bro ❤️ pic.twitter.com/X3yAH1Sl0p

— Eduardo Camavinga (@Camavinga) October 28, 2024

While it’s natural for Vinicius to feel bad after missing out on the Ballon d’Or, the voting process to select the winner is quite transparent, but as it is picked on votes, it’s possible that the winner would be a subjective choice.

How Ballon d’Or winners is selected?

The Ballon d’Or award is organized by the France Football magazine which constituted the award in 1956 for the men. The Ballon d’Or for women footballers was started in 2018. The Ballon d’Or winner every year is selected through voting by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.

One journalist is picked from a single country who then selects 10 players in ranked order, with points attributed to each position. The Ballon d’Or winner is the player who receives the highest number of points. The fans are not a part of the voting system as they are in FIFA’s awards for the best players each year.