Carlo Ancelotti and three of his Real Madrid players immediately reacted to the 2024 Ballon d'Or award announcement after Vinicius Jr was beaten to the prize by Rodri.
The Manchester City and Spain midfielder became the 50th player to claim the coveted award at a ceremony in Paris on Monday evening. 100 journalists from the top ranked FIFA nations voted Rodri as the best player in the world after he played a key role in Premier League and Euro 2024 successes for club and country, respectively.
But there was uproar from a Real Madrid perspective as the club decided to boycott the event completely having heard rumblings that Vinicius had not won. Nobody was there to represent Los Blancos, meaning there was only a brief congratulations for their Team of the Year win and Carlo Ancelotti did not collect his prize for the Men's Johan Cruyff trophy handed out to the best coach.
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The Italian took to Instagram to reference his victory but made sure to reference Vinicius. Ancelotti wrote: "I want to thank my family, my president, my club, my players and above all Vini and Carvajal."
Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga followed up on the announcement, commenting: "Football politics [cross emoji] My brother you are the best player in the world and no award can say otherwise. Love you my bro."
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Meanwhile goalkeeper Andrey Lunin posted a picture of himself and Vinicius on Instagram, with a sticker that said "You're the best."
Vinicius' club and country colleague Eder Militao also weighed in on his feed, adding: "You are the best and no one can take that away from you! The Best!".
And finally, Aurelien Tchouameni felt the need to give Vinicius his flowers. On X, formerly known as Twitter, the France international posted: "Nothing will take away what you’ve achieved my brother. We ALL know…
"They are not ready for what you’re gonna deliver. Love @vinijr."
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Prior to Rodri being confirmed as the Ballon d'Or winner, Toni Kroos had labelled the 24-year-old "The best" on Instagram, with Vinicius replying, "I love you Antonio!!".
Vinicius reportedly cancelled a chartered flight and private event that he had organised for the event and ultimately had to settle for second place. Jude Bellingham came third while captain Dani Carvajal took fourth spot.
Topics: Real Madrid, Ballon d'Or, Carlo Ancelotti, Vinicius Jr, Rodri
Josh Lawless