Vinicius Juniorthe Real Madrid star, finally won an important global award as a player. After the controversy with the Ballon d’Or, the Brazilian was voted the best footballer in the world by the FIFA in the awards The Best 2024 that were delivered this Tuesday.
“Today I write to that boy who saw so many idols lift this trophy… his time has come. Or rather, my time has come. The time to say… yes, I am the best player in the world and I have fought a lot for it,” Vini wrote in an Instagram post.
Affected by the controversies and questions linked to racism in the Spanish League, Vinícius was the protagonist of a scandal of proportions after Real Madrid decided not to attend the Ballon d’Or gala that is awarded in Paris because the Brazilian was not going to be chosen as the best but the prize went to the Spanish Rodri.
“They tried and continue to try to invalidate me, diminish me. But they are not prepared. Nobody will tell me who I should fight for, how I should behave. When I was in São Gonçalo, the system did not care about me. They almost swallowed me up,” Vinícius wrote, remembering his years of youth, in one of the poorest areas of Rio de Janeiro.
And then he added: “I won for myself and my family. With a lot of support along the way: Flamengo, Real Madrid, the Brazilian National Team, my hundreds of teammates over the years… the people who accompany me every day in my routine, those who admire me…”
For closing, a failure? “The best player in the word,” Vini wrote, putting “word” instead of “world.” Could he have done it on purpose?
Vinícius Júnior, the most voted in The Best 2024 Awards
The Brazilian was named player of the year in the FIFA “The Best” awards, where the Barcelona midfielder was also awarded, Aitana Bonmatíin the female branch.
Vinicius, 24, was so disappointed in October, after losing the Ballon d’Or vote to Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Rodri, that both the South American footballer and his team boycotted the ceremony in Paris as a sign of protest.
This time Rodri He came second, five points behind Vinícius. The Brazilian striker was at the FIFA ceremony to collect his award after having traveled to Doha on Monday with Madrid for the final of the Copa Intercontinental which will be played this Wednesday against Pachuca of Mexico.
Bonmatí won the award for best player of the year, achieving consecutive trophies in FIFA’s version of the Ballon d’Or, an older and more prestigious award. Both awards were once unified.
The 26-year-old Catalan player has won the Ballon d’Or for two consecutive years. He won the Spanish league and cup, as well as the European Champions League with Barcelona in 2024.
Another who repeated the award was Emiliano Dibu Martínez, from Aston Villa and the Argentine national team, chosen as the best goalkeeper of the year.
FIFA said the award winners were decided by an “equally weighted voting system” by fans, current captains and coaches of all national teams, and representatives of the press.
There was a shortlist of 11 finalists for both awards. The contenders were selected based on their performances from August 21, 2023 to August 10, 2024.
Vinícius had the best season of his career, scoring 24 goals in 39 appearances for Madrid and helping the Spanish team extend its record with a 15th Champions League title, the second for Vinícius.
He also scored in the title match, becoming the youngest player to score in two Champions League finals.
the english Jude BellinghamVinicius’ teammate in Madrid, came third, ahead of Dani Carvajal y Lamine Yamal.
Argentine Lionel Messi (who had won the award the previous two years) was now in sixth place.
Carlo AncelottiMadrid coach, was named the best coach. The United States coach, Emma Hayestook the prize in the women’s category.
Hayes led the team to the Olympic gold medal in Paris in August. Your archer, Alyssa Naherreceived the award for best of the year in that position.
With information from Agencies