France Football magazine, which organizes the Ballon d'Or, has revealed the margin by which Manchester City midfielder Rodri edged out Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior for the most prestigious individual award.
The Spanish midfielder, who triumphed with La Furia Roja at Euro 2024, left behind the Brazilian striker of the winner of the Champions League by 41 points - 1170 to 1129. The decision caused controversy, and the delegation of the Spanish club did not travel to Paris for the ceremony by award, offended by the vote against Vinicius. The coach of the team, Carlo Ancelotti, was chosen as the Best Coach, and Real - as the Best Team.
A total of 6,633 points had to be allocated in the vote, which also shows how little Rodri actually managed to outscore Vinicius. France Football data also showed that Ademola Lookman (Atalanta), Kylian Mbappe (who joined Real in the summer but was still part of Paris Saint-Germain at the time of the vote), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Lautaro Martinez (Inter) and Rodri are the only non-Madrid players at the time of the vote to receive a first-place vote.
Of those who triumphed with Real in the Champions League, Jude Bellingham (5), Dani Carvajal (4) and Toni Kroos (2) have more than one vote for Best Footballer. Five of the judges did not name Rodri in the top 10, and three left Vinicius out of the first ten players. | BGNES
