Ballon d'Or results emerge after Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid boycott Rodri victory

Vinicius Jr was completely overlooked by three pundits when he lost the Ballon d'Or. The Brazilian star appeared to be the favorite at last month's glamorous ceremony.

However, after learning he had been narrowly beaten by Manchester City midfielder Rodri, the winger and Real Madrid decided not to attend the event in Paris.

Rodri picked up the trophy after his outstanding performances for the current Premier League champions, while playing a crucial role in Spain's Euro 2024 victory.

We now know how close the vote was, with L'Equipe revealing the final ranking. A jury of 99 judges voted for the Ballon d'Or, each selecting their ten best players in the world.

Each first place vote received 15 points, followed by 12, 10, eight, seven, five and so on, with the last player on each list earning only one point.

Rodri tops the list with 1,170 points, 41 ahead of his closest competitor, Vinicius. Although the Brazilian winger finished second with 1,129 points, he was snubbed by three journalists.

Vinicius did not make the top ten of the three voters, despite his exceptional form for Real Madrid. His Bernabeu teammate Jude Bellingham is at the bottom of the pack with 917 points.

The Spanish club were angered by the end result and boycotted the ceremony.

Real Madrid then issued a statement saying: “If the award criteria do not give Vinicius as the winner, then these same criteria should designate Carvajal as the winner. As this was not the case, it is clear that Le Ballon d 'Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid and Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected.

Following the controversy, former Brazilian star Rivaldo criticized Vinicius Jr and urged him to focus on his performances. He said: “Vinicius needs to get this Ballon d'Or thing out of his head, start playing again and play well for Real Madrid, who need to win games after two consecutive defeats. Vinicius is young, he is old enough and football to turn the situation around.

“One day he will win the Ballon d'Or. He could be the best in the world one or more times. Do all the journalists who vote really understand football? Are they all, absolutely all, people really qualified?

“I can't underestimate Rodri. He's a player I like. For me, he was my second candidate. And yes, even though I think Vinicius deserved the Ballon d'Or more, I don't I can't take any credit for this price, because I really admire Rodri's way of playing and his style.”