If you can put the ball in the back of the net for a club like Real Madrid, you are going to be in any discussion for footballing awards.
If you do so while leading “Los Blancos” to the UEFA Champions League crown, it is almost a lock that you are going to end the year with the famed Ballon d’Or trophy.
That is good news for Vinícius Júnior.
The Real Madrid forward is expected to become the eighth player from the club to lift the famous golden ball Monday night in Paris, beating out 29 other players. Vini Jr. will be the fifth Brazilian (Ronaldo Nazário in 1997 and 2002, Rivaldo in 1999, Ronaldinho in 2005, and Kaká in 2007) to win the award, and will join Cristiano Ronaldo (won four times with Real Madrid) Alfredo Di Stéfano (two times), Luka Modrić, Karim Benzema, Fabio Cannavaro, Luis Figo and Raymond Kopa as Real Madrid winners.
The last seven times Real Madrid has won the Champions League, a player at the club has also won the Ballon d’Or: 2000 (Figo), 2002 (Ronaldo Nazário), 2014, 2016, and 2017 (Cristiano Ronaldo), 2018 (Modrić), and 2022 (Benzema).
Vini Jr. will make that eight for eight.
His manager, Carlo Ancelotti, spoke after Vinícius Júnior ripped apart Borussia Dortmund this week in a rematch of the 2024 Champions League final. The forward had a second half hat trick, to help Madrid overturn a 2-0 halftime deficit in a 5-2 victory.
“He will win the Ballon d’Or, not for tonight, but for last season,” Ancelotti said after the match. “These are three goals that will help him for the next Ballon d’Or. I can say that it is rare to see a player who makes a second half as he does. Apart from the goals, with an energy and intensity, with an extraordinary character.”
Modrić also spoke after the match about his teammate, who will be one of seven current or former Real Madrid players in the final 30 for the award.
“Let’s see, let’s see, because we have a couple of players that could win it,” Modrić said. “Yeah, definitely, not just for tonight, but the whole season, he (Vini Jr.) was outstanding. We are looking forward to see who will win it.
“But I think overall, when you see how he played last season and what he is doing this season–and especially after tonight–I think he deserves it.”
Vinícius Júnior scored 24 goals and tallied 11 assists in 39 appearances for Real Madrid last season, helping them win La Liga, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup.
He also picked up his second Sofascore “Perfect 10” rating of 2024 in the win over Borussia Dortmund, with the first coming in another three-goal outing, a 4-1 win over Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup. The next Clasico will come Saturday, as Real Madrid looks to pull even on points at the top of the LaLiga table with Barcelona.
Whatever happens in that match, though, will do little to change the party in Paris Monday night, as Vinícius Júnior is feted as the best player in the world.
