Vinicius Jr Favourite To Win 2024 Ballon dOr: Reports have emerged over the last few hours that Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr. is now the favourite to win the 2024 Ballon d’Or award.
The Brazilian has been a critical piece of the puzzle for Los Blancos. Providing an attacking spark down the flank, VIni was a big part of the side’s La Liga and UEFA Champions League win in the 2023-24 season, scoring in the semi-final and the final of the UCL.
In the last season, he was Real’s highest goal scorer, scoring 24 goals and assisting 11 in 39 appearances. This includes six UCL goals, taking the team to their 15th Champions League title.
For his brilliant performances over the season, Vini has been seen as a prime contender for the prestigious award, which is given out by France Football to the best footballer in a calendar year. Other favourites to win the award are Vinicius’ Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham and Manchester City’s Rodri.
Vinicius Jr Favourite To Win 2024 Ballon dOr: Why?
In a recent report by CNN, it now appears that the 24-year-old has now emerged as the favourite to win the 2024 Ballon d’Or award, pipping the likes of Bellingham and Rodri. If he wins, Vini will become the first Brazilian to win the award since Kaka in 2007.
In his last interview appearance before this report emerged, the star attacker laid out his motivations and what drives him to succeed with the Spanish giants.
“I always play to be among the best, and each day that passes at Real Madrid, I feel more confident. I’ve already won two Champions Leagues, and I play with others who have already won six—[Dani] Carvajal also has won six—and they motivate us each day to play beyond our limits and that everything is possible with the team we have now.”
“We already made it this far [winning two Champions Leagues in three years]. It was really hard. But to stay at the highest level, it’s much harder, so I want to stay at this level for a long time and be able to win as many Champions League as Carvajal, [Luka] Modrić, Nacho, and Toni [Kroos], who won six,” he told GOAL.com.
The only barrier between Vinicius Jr. and the Ballon d’Or is success with the national team. While he did win the La Liga and the UCL with Real Madrid, he was a part of the mediocre Brazil team that was knocked out in the quarterfinal of the 2024 Copa America. Whereas Rodri, besides winning the Premier League with Man City, also won the 2024 Euros with Spain and was even named the Player of the Tournament.
As for Jude Bellingham, while he did not win the Euros with England, he did reach the final of the tournament along with winning La Liga and the UCL with Los Blancos.
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