‘They’re Not Ready’: Vinicius Jr Reacts After Losing Ballon d’Or To Rodri

Brazil and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior responded to his second-place finish in the 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or race with a determined message on social media.

Posting on X, Vinicius wrote, “I’ll do it 10x if I have to. They’re not ready,” a statement that quickly went viral.

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Real Madrid notably boycotted the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, with the club announcing its decision not to attend due to what it viewed as a slight against Vinicius.

“If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to

Carvajal as the winner,” Real Madrid told AFP.

“As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d’Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected.”

Real Madrid’s list of Ballon d’Or nominees included Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger, Fede Valverde, and Jude Bellingham alongside Vinicius Junior.

The Ballon d’Or winner is selected from this elite shortlist by an international panel of 100 specialist journalists. In response to widespread speculation, the Amaury group—owners of the L’Equipe sports daily and France Football magazine—denied to AFP that the winner’s name had been leaked, stating firmly that “no player or club” was informed of the result beforehand.

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