Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior is going to take the 2024 Ballon d’Or, according to a story published in Spanish newspaper Marca. The 24-year-old Real Madrid star is to capture football’s most coveted individual trophy that will be handed out on October 28th in the French capital.
Marca reports that he overcame strong competition from his Real Madrid teammates Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and Dani Carvajal, along with Manchester City’s Rodri. Portuguese players like PSG’s Vitinha and Manchester City’s Ruben Dias also feature in the final 30-man shortlist.
The outstanding Vinicius in the just-ended 2023/24 season played 39 games for Real Madrid, netting 24 times and assisting 11 times. He was quite instrumental in the team’s winning of LaLiga, the Champions League, and the Spanish Super Cup. However, his Copa del Rey ended in the Round of 16, and he also suffered elimination with Brazil’s national team in the quarter-finals of Copa América.
A win for Vinicius would extend the success of Luka Modrić and Karim Benzema and mark one more Ballon d’Or for the player of Real Madrid after those many years dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.