It’s expected that the 2024 Ballon d’Or will go to one of Vinicius Junior or Rodri Hernandez, and reports this week say that it will be the former to collect the award. If he does so, Real Madrid would have their second winner in two years, following Karim Benzema’s success in 2022.
Not many would question Vinicius as the winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or, and one person that is fully behind the decision to award the 23-year-old is his countryman, Neymar Junior. In an interview with Band Sports (via Marca), the former Barcelona sensation make his feelings clear.
“Of course I will be supporting him to win the Ballon d’Or this year. For me there is no other better candidate to win. He’s a guy who deserves it, because he’s a fighter. He has suffered a lot throughout his life, but he has exceeded all expectations and criticism. He has become an idol for all of us.”
Vinicius may be expected to win, but confirmation will not come until the Ballon d’Or ceremony later in the year. For now, Real Madrid will remain on tenterhooks in its hope for a new winner of the award.