'It was unfair' - Why Cristiano Ronaldo believes Vini Jr deserved Ballon d’Or over Rodri

Cristiano Ronaldo has finally broken his silence on the controversial Ballon d’Or ceremony that saw Manchester City’s Rodri win the top honour over Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or generated a lot of buzz even before the winners were announced in Paris on October 28, 2024. The conversation before the main ceremony was that there was no clear favourite to win the ultimate as many saw Real Madrid trio Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Dani Carvajal together with Spanish midfielder Rodri as the frontrunners.

All four had spectacular seasons by all standards and won multiple trophies in the season under review, however many football fans tipped the Brazilian attacker to be crowned the world’s best player come the day.

That was, however, not the case and he apparently found out he was not going to be named winner, hence, he and his Real Madrid entourage boycotted the event for what they classified as unfair and disrespectful.

This generated a lot of anticipation before the big announcement and finally, Rodri was confirmed as the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or winner. A decision that still divides opinion in the football world.

Do you think Rodri deserves the #BallonDor? #PulseSports

— Pulse Ghana (@PulseGhana) October 28, 2024

Joining in on the conversation, albeit two months late, is five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, who categorically stated Vinicius Junior deserved the award.

Speaking at the 2024 Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai last night, the former Real Madrid star explained why the Brazilian forward deserved it more.

???? Cristiano, más claro imposible: "Vinicius tendría que haber ganado el Balón de Oro"#GlobeSoccer pic.twitter.com/0U9Nhjs7I5

— MARCA (@marca) December 27, 2024

I really love the way they do their career, Bellingham, Lamine [Yamal] now, this young generation, Vinicius, they do a fantastic job.

In my opinion, he [Vinicius] deserved to win the Golden Ball. It was unfair in my opinion, I say it here in front of everybody. They gave it to Rodri, he deserved it too but I think they should have given it to Vinicius because he won a Champions League… and scored in the final.

Vinicius Junior has since been named the Best Men’s Player at the FIFA Awards and was awarded the Best Men’s Player and Best Forward at the Globe Soccer Awards in Palm Jumeirah on Friday night.

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