France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia made a strong statement following the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony, which unexpectedly slipped away from Vinicius Junior. According to Garcia, it was the Madrilenians who prevented the 24-year-old Brazilian star from touching the grail.
The football world has been in turmoil since Monday. Following the weekend’s El Clásico in La Liga between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the sports world took an unexpected turn with the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony. While Real Madrid was preparing to celebrate its star Vinicius Junior, who had been touted as the winner for months, France Football caught everyone off guard by awarding the prize to Manchester City’s Rodri.
As the global press and prominent football figures decry “a robbery,” the head of the monthly magazine that organises this event, one that has lost credibility in the eyes of Cristiano Ronaldo over the past few years, spoke out. Speaking to L’Équipe after the ceremony, marked by humiliating moments for the winner, Vincent Garcia expressed his disappointment over the absence of the Madrid delegation.
Vincent Garcia’s outlandish analysis
Attempting to justify what happened with the small group of journalists whose “lunar” choices were at odds with the majority of public opinion, France Football claimed that the presence of other Real Madrid players in the race for the title ended up penalising Vinicius Junior. “It was a close win; it didn’t come down to much. The full voting breakdown will be published in France Football on 9 November,” Garcia first noted before continuing.
“What I can say is that it was tight. Vinicius probably suffered from the presence of Bellingham and Carvajal in the top 5, which mathematically cost him a few votes. Toni Kroos is also in the top 10. This somewhat reflects Real Madrid’s season, which was carried by 3-4 different players last year, and the jurors split their votes, which may have benefited Rodri,” added the head of the French publication.
It must be said that Real Madrid, coming off a prolific season, had several favourites vying for the 68th edition of the Ballon d’Or trophy. If Vinicius Junior did not meet this year’s new criteria, Dani Carvajal, who performed better than Rodri, could have won the trophy. With the “lunar” votes of some journalists who did not place Vinicius in their top 5 or even top 10, one wonders if the motivations lie elsewhere, as the Madrid directors suspect.
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