France Football Reveals the Tiny Margin by Which Rodri Edged Vinicius Junior to the Ballon d’Or

09 Nov 2024 ScoreWaves Staff view

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This year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony sent shockwaves through the footballing world as France Football crowned Rodri over Vinicius Junior. Real Madrid’s response? A full boycott, convinced their star winger was unfairly overlooked. Fans were split: some argued Vini was robbed, while others saw Rodri as a worthy winner.

But that’s the drama of award season—there’s always a winner and a runner-up. For a while, the decision felt clouded in mystery, but now France Football has shed light on the decision-making process. According to the documents released by France Football (Ballon d’Or’s governing body), Manchester City’s midfield maestro piped Vini by a narrow margin of just 41 votes. This twist stunned fans who, right up until the ceremony, had pegged Vinicius as the clear frontrunner for the prestigious award. The 24-year-old Brazilian played an instrumental role in Real Madrid’s La Liga, Spanish Super Cup and Champions League triumphs last season. In fact, the Brazilian winger registered 24 goals and 11 assists in 39 appearances across all competitions. Meanwhile, Rodri clinched his fourth straight Premier League title with Manchester City and played a pivotal role in Spain's 2024 Euro victory.

The Ballon d’Or winner is selected by a panel of football journalists—one from each of the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations. Each voter ranks their top five players, assigning points based on placement, from six points for their top choice down to one for fifth place. The player with the highest total points wins the award. This year, Rodri claimed a commanding 1,170 votes out of a possible 1,485. Although 30 players were nominated, the race quickly narrowed to just three main contenders, with Rodri well ahead of fourth-placed Dani Carvajal, who trailed by a substantial 620 points.

Vini’s Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham was third on the list, finishing with 917 points – 253 points behind Rodri. Last season, the 21-year-old Englishman took the football world by storm after delivering stellar performances for Los Blancos week-in, week-out. However, his form tailed off by the end of the season. Despite that, Bellingham managed to score 23 goals and provided 11 assists in 40 appearances across all competitions. Erling Haaland rounded off the top five with 432 points—a significant drop from his impressive second-place finish last year. Kylian Mbappe also experienced a dip, ending with 420 points, though he still emerged as the highest-ranked Frenchman on the list.

However, one of the most exciting stories was Lamine Yamal. At just 17 years old, the young winger not only made the 30-man shortlist but also claimed an impressive eighth place with 383 points. Yamal’s stellar finish saw him outrank established stars like Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Toni Kroos, and Fede Valverde—a massive achievement for such a young talent. Of the 30 nominees, only Girona's Artem Dovbyk and Germany's Mats Hummels walked away with the unfortunate distinction of receiving no votes.