There is no longer room for doubt in the Spanish capital. Four days before the Ballon d’Or ceremony, which will be held on Monday on the stage of the Théâtre du Châtelet, Vinicius is indeed preparing to succeed Lionel Messi on the Ballon d’Or list. For several weeks, the Madrid press has launched lobbying in favor of the Brazilian.
“It was a matter of time. Vinicius is Vinicius. A footballer who fights, fights and fights again, no matter how he behaved the previous time. Who breaks defenses with infernal speed and only needs a little to score. A world star who, in eight days, will receive his first Ballon d’Or”, wrote AS this weekend.
And it’s not Vinicius’ performance on Tuesday against Borussia Dortmund that risks changing the minds of the Madrid dailies. While Real seemed on the verge of collapse, trailing 2-0 at the break by Borussia Dortmund, the native of Rio Janeiro emerged to score a hat-trick in the second half and allow the Merengue to win 5-2.
“Ballon d’Or”, Benzema’s cry from the heart
“Vinicius is Golden”headline in a Marca, referring to his “imminent Ballon d’Or”. And the Madrid press is not the only one to make the Brazilian number 7 the 2024 Ballon d’Or. The same is true of Karim Benzema. “Ballon d’Or”, he wrote on Instagram in a comment left under Vinicius’ post after the stunning victory of the Merengue.
If Vinicius has many assets to highlight, first and foremost Real Madrid’s double last season, Brazil’s failure at the Copa America clearly leaves a mark. Above all, the two coronations of the Merengue were collective works and to this end Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal, who is the only one to have achieved the double Champions League with Real Madrid and the Euro with Spain have arguments to assert. If Kylian Mbappé is further away, Rodri, the playing master of Manchester City, is the other big favorite after being the best player of the Euro.
