Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior has faced widespread taunts when traveling to away games in Spain for his Ballon d’Or snub, but the Brazilian has confirmed that it was an order that came down from upon high. None of the Real Madrid nominees nor anyone from the club attended the gala night hosted by France Football after it emerged that Manchester City’s Rodri Hernandez would be winning the award.
Vinicius wrote shortly after the award was handed out that he would do it ’10x better if he had to’, but denied that he felt cheated by the result. After winning The Best award, he would also publicly declare that he felt he was the best in the world.
“No, people vote for what they believe. I have my own thoughts. I never dreamed of winning the Ballon d’Or, when you’re close to it you believe it, but I’m going to have more opportunities. I’ve already won two European Cups and I’m here to win many more.”
Regularly met with ‘Vinicius, beach ball’ chants these days rather than golden ball, he confirmed that it was President Florentino Perez who made the decision not to attend the awards night. It was that decision which largely brought criticism for Real Madrid and flack for Vinicius.
“I do what the club tells me to do and the club asked me to stay in Madrid,” he noted.
The Brazilian was also asked what frustrated him most on the football pitch, and pointed towards the officials.
“When the referees don’t show cards to others and when I protest for the first time and they show me a card. I do a lot of things I shouldn’t do, but with each game I’m improving and I’m calmer. So little by little I’m getting better. I’ve been here a long time, but people forget that I’m 24 years old and I still have a lot to learn and I’m going to keep learning until the end of my career.”
“Referees in Europe are more supportive of players who make the game a spectacle. We don’t like to talk about referees, but of course it’s important for us that they referee well.”
🗣️#Vinicius on officiating in Europe compared to La Liga. #RealMadrid pic.twitter.com/YwpPoCtcXV
— Football España (@footballespana_) March 3, 2025
It has been reported that not all of the Real Madrid squad agree with the club policy of criticising referees, but the star forward has been one of their most vocal players about the issue.
The officials had little to do with Los Blancos’ defeat to Real Betis at the weekend though, as they fell to an eighth loss of the season. It had seemed as if Real Madrid had turned a corner with their forward line showing renewed commitment to pressing, but that was missing at the Benito Villamarin.
“We always realise that we have to defend better, because if not we won’t win. The coach talks to the four up front so that we work hard. When the most important part of the season comes, we play better and we have to do our best for this team.”
Vinicius was also asked what manager Carlo Ancelotti had told them after being beaten by Betis.
“In the last game we lacked a bit of everything. We started very well, but after 20 minutes we made too many mistakes and did everything wrong. It’s best that it happened in that game because tomorrow you can’t make a mistake. If you make a mistake you go home. We are here to improve and play a good game tomorrow.”
