• The 2024 Ballon d’Or will join a list of other controversial decisions from previous years after Rodri won it.
• The Manchester City midfielder beat Vinicius Júnior, who until Monday afternoon was the supposed winner of the award.
• TUKO.co.ke analyzes the specific criteria voters follow and why many of them chose Rodri as the best player of the year

There was a crisis of crazy proportions online on Monday afternoon after it emerged that Vinicius Junior, after months of speculation, would not win the 2024 Ballon d’Or.

Real Madrid withdrew its large delegation and its lofty plans to cover the Paris ceremony, giving a clear signal that the Ballon d’Or will not return to the Bernabéu.

Did Rodri deserve the Ballon d’Or?

And true to the signs, a wounded and emotional Rodri was announced as the winner of the award before illustrious guests at the Théâtre du Châtelet.

Read also

It is revealed how much Rodri will earn after beating Vini Jr to win the 2024 Ballon d’Or

After Vinicius Júnior’s snub, a sector of the fans has called the award a “farce” and “theft”, among many other things.

How the winners of the Ballon d’Or are voted

The decision reignited the conversation about What exactly are voters looking at?. 100 journalists from the 100 highest-ranked FIFA countries select their top 10 winners from a list of 30 nominees. As explained in UEFA websiteThe ten selected players receive 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point, respectively. The points are then added up and the player with the most points wins the prize.

How the Ballon d’Or winners are chosen

Since this is a vote, the process is as subjective as possible. A journalist from a certain country can easily ignore the favorites and vote for his compatriot. But let’s say it was an objective process; What criteria should they use? TUKO.co.ke He breaks it down and compares it to Rodri’s season.

Read also

Why African players have performed poorly at the Ballon d’Or awards

1. Individual performance in the previous season

Since this is a seasonal award, Rodri’s 2023/2024 season was compared to that of his rivals. The last time Rodri lost a Premier League was in February 2023. Pep Guardiola’s team struggled to cope without him each time he was absent.

He got the champions going en route to their historic fourth crown. Then he headed to Germany and repeated the same performance with Spain, winning the title and The most valuable player of the Euro Cup.

The 28-year-old also contributed 12 goals and 15 assists, which for a defensive midfielder is impressive.

On the other hand, Vinicius Junior was the star of Real Madrid’s career in the Champions League. He also won La Liga, but his teammate Jude Bellingham was awarded the league MVP. His struggles with Brazil in the Copa América did him no favors.

In the end, the majority of voters apparently decided that Rodri had done enough for club and country compared to the former Flamengo star.

Read also

Surprise Ballon d’Or winner emerges in ‘leaked’ result as Ademola Lookman falls out of top 15

2. Team success during the previous season

Rodri’s performances helped his teams win the Super Cup, Premier League and Euro 2024, while Vinicius Junior won the Champions League, La Liga and Spanish Super Cup.

Real Madrid’s argument has been that if Vinicius Junior did not meet the criteria that voters wanted, then the winner should have been Dani Carvajal, who won both the Champions League and the European Championship.

3. Class and fair play

Vinicius Junior’s clashes with rivals and fans during his stay in Spain are well documented. The Brazilian has been very vocal in denouncing racist behavior, which has often put him at odds with many people.

While Vinicius’ behavior on the pitch has not been aesthetically pleasing, it is equally fair to point out that Rodri was sacked last season for violent conduct after grabbing Morgan Gibbs-White by the throat.

Be the judge. Was Rodri the deserved winner?

How much will Rodri earn after winning the Ballon d’Or?

Read also

Another EPL club to rival Arsenal in the race to sign Ballon d’Or nominee Ademola Lookman

At the same time, TUKO.co.ke has reported about how much Rodri will receive after winning the Ballon d’Or.

It could be the most lucrative individual prize in American footballbut the winner does not receive any monetary gain.

Source: TUKO.co.ke