While there has been no official confirmation that it was the reason, it seems that Vinicius Junior finishing second in the Ballon d’Or poll to Rodri Hernandez was behind the non-attendance of Real Madrid. Vinicius posted after the winner was announced that he go for it ’10x over’ in the aftermath, and generally seemed upset at the verdict.
He assured after The Best award, which he did win, that he was now the best player in the world. While the Ballon d’Or might have damaged his ego, there are millions of other reasons that Vinicius might have been frustrated at the verdict.
Diario AS detail that Vinicius will go from earning €15m per annum to €20m per annum in the final two years of his contract (which runs until 2027), a significant 33% bump and a difference of €10m in total. The Best award triggered bonuses in his contract, and it is presumed that the Ballon d’Or award would have either triggered the same, or perhaps even meant further bonuses.
Clearly, this is all relative to your earnings, but most would be upset at the prospect of losing €10m, beyond the general hopes he had of winning the award. Los Blancos are set to offer him a new deal next summer, amid interest from Saudi Arabia, as he moves into the final stages of his contract. It should be noted that some outlets dispute Vinicius’ current base salary, saying it is closer to €10m per annum.
