Osamagbe Imadiyi
The forward for Real Madrid and Brazil, Vinicius Jr., told Reuters on Monday that he will continue to fight racism even if his activism is the reason he did not win the Ballon d’Or. After falling behind Rodriguez, a midfielder for Manchester City and Spain, in the prestigious award voting, Vinicius took to social media.
If it is necessary, I will do it ten times. After Real Madrid, his La Liga team, canceled their plans to attend the ceremony in Paris and boycotted it in anticipation of the Brazilian losing the men’s award, Vinicius wrote on X, “They are not ready.” When asked what he meant by his post, Vinicius’ management team told Reuters that he was talking about his battle against racism.
“The football world is not ready to accept a player who fights against the system,” they stated, implying that this is what prevented him from receiving the award. The 24-year-old Brazilian international has experienced multiple instances of racial abuse in Spain, which has resulted in at least two convictions for racist insults in the nation’s first cases.
After winning the European and Spanish league double in a nearly flawless season the previous year, Real Madrid’s manager Carlo Ancelotti was named men’s coach of the year, and the team also took home the Men’s Club of the Year award.
An immediate response from France Football, the organization that hosts the Ballon d’Or awards, was not available.
Together with Jude Bellingham, 21, who scored 19 goals in a brilliant debut season and helped England advance to the Euro 2024 final while finishing third in the Ballon d’Or ranking, Vinicius played a key role in Real Madrid’s Champions League-La Liga double.