Dubai [UAE], December 28 : Legendary Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo criticized the Ballon d'Or award and said that Real Madrid and Brazilian superstar Vinicius Junior deserved to be named as the best men's player.
Earlier in October, Manchester City midfielder Rodri was named the 2024 Men's Ballon d'Or winner, he helped his club secure the English Premier League title for the fourth consecutive time.
Apart from club football, Rodri played a crucial role for the Spanish national team, contributing to their victory at the 2024 Euros in Germany, where they defeated England 2-1 in July. He was named Player of the Tournament.
A month later after the Ballon d'Or award ceremony, Vinicius went on to win The Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year and was also awarded the Player of the Year award at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo was also awarded the 'Best Middle East Player' award at the Globe Soccer Awards.
Speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards, Ronaldo said that it was "unfair" to deny Vinicius the 2024 Men's Ballon d'Or award.
"In my opinion, he [Vinicius] deserved to win the Golden Ball [Ballon d'Or award]. It was unfair in my opinion. I say here in front of everybody. They give it to Rodri, he deserved it too, but they should have given it to Vinicius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final," Ronaldo was quoted by Goal.com as saying.
The Portugal skipper added that Globe Soccer Awards is better than other galas since they are "honest".
"You know these galas, they always do the same thing. This is why I love Globe Soccer Awards, they are honest," he added.
The Brazilian winger was the guiding light on the attacking front for Real Madrid last season. He helped Real Madrid lift the UEFA Champions League title and the La Liga title. He was the top scorer for Real Madrid, with 24 goals across all competitions.
However, his outing with Brazil didn't turn out as he would have hoped for. Vinicius was a part of the Brazil squad that crashed out of Copa America in the quarter-final stage against Uruguay.
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