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2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri has revealed who he would have voted for behind himself for the illustrious award. The Spaniard claimed the award ahead of the Real Madrid duo of Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham, who finished second and third, respectively.
The Manchester City defensive midfielder earned the award on the back of an impressive season. He was crowned the Champion of England for a fourth consecutive season and won Euro 2024 with his nation in Germany in the summer.
During a recent interview with the Spanish radio program El Partidazo de COPE, the Ballon d'Or winner said:
“I’d vote Dani Carvajal 2nd at the Ballon d’Or, and Vinicius as 3rd.”
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Dani Carvajal had a fantastic season in his own right with Real Madrid. The right-back won LaLiga, the UEFA Champions League, Supercopa de Espana, and Euro 2024. His teammate Vinicius Jr., who was heavily tipped to claim the prize, won the same club honors as Carvajal but failed to win an international trophy.
Journalist to resign from Ballon d'Or panel over "technical error"
According to GOAL, a journalist from Finland, Juha Kanerva, has announced his resignation from the Ballon d'Or panel after admitting to a mistake in his voting. The Ilta-Sanomat journalist admitted to accidentally omitting Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. from his top-10 list when votes were submitted.
Vinicius was widely tipped to win the award and alongside his club, was incensed when he missed out on the prize to Manchester City star Rodri by 41 points. The outrage in Madrid led to the entire Los Blancos contingent boycotting the award ceremony.
Vinicius Jr. was one of the best players in the previous season and played a starring role for his club in their LaLiga and UEFA Champions League triumphs. He bagged 24 goals and 11 assists in 39 games.
In a response to the above post on X, Kanerva wrote:
"This was my technical fault, for which I take responsibility. I am leaving my place as Ballon d'Or selector."
Vinicius Jr. has started the new season in scintillating form and is already putting himself forward for the next edition of the award with his performances. The Brazilian has scored 12 goals and provided seven assists in 17 games for his club.
