Soccer hates its Black stars, and Vinicius Jr’s Balloon d’Or snub is the latest example.
Vinicius Jr., or better known as Vini Jr., had the award locked up — or well it seemed that way in September, a month before the actual ceremony. The Ballon d’Or is given to the best soccer player in the world every year around this time, and it was a common thought that Vini Jr. would receive it. So it was shocking to him, his team Real Madrid, and most of the soccer world on the day of the ceremony when it was confirmed that the winner would not be Vini Jr. but instead Manchester City’s Rodri. The soccer world and social media were in an uproar, so much so that Vini Jr. and the entire Real Madrid organization boycotted the award ceremony on Oct. 28. The commotion was understandable and deserving.
Vini Jr. had a season for the ages. In 39 appearances for Real Madrid, the forward scored 24 goals and recorded 11 assists. Real Madrid went unbeaten in every match he appeared in, including winning both La Liga and the Champions League in the 2023-24 campaign. He had great moments too: a brace in the first leg of the UCL semifinal against Bayern Munich, a goal in the Champions League Final, and a hat trick against Barcelona in the Super Copa semifinal. His stats and moments clearly were Ballon d’Or worthy over Rodri.
Rodri had a fine season too. He proved he is arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world, and Manchester City’s treble win is proof of that. The stats weren’t there though, as he only scored 12 goals. He did finish with two more assists than Vini Jr., but the real separation between them was in international competition. Rodri led a Spain team that dominated internationally, including winning the 2024 Euros. Vini Jr. and Brazil were eliminated early in the Copa America.
Another reason given for Vini Jr.’s snub was his teammates. Real Madrid is stacked and featured not only Vini, who finished second, but also Jude Bellingham, who finished third. His teammates stole votes, but why wasn’t the same logic applied to Rodri and Spain? Dani Carvajal is one of the best defenders in the world. Nico Williams plays in the midfield with Rodri and he is top class. And how can we forget Lamine Yamal? He won Best Young Player of the 2024 Euros and took home a top honor at the Ballon d’Or ceremony as Best Young Player. If the rationale is that Vini Jr. lost votes because of his world-class teammates, the same energy should apply to the Spaniards.
But obviously that wasn’t the truth — it was just a well-thought-out excuse, like most people use when they try to explain their racism. Soccer has had a long history of Black stars being mistreated. In April 2009, Inter Milan’s Mario Balotelli, an Italian footballer of Ghanaian descent, was subjected to racial abuse from Juventus fans. In January 2013, then-Milan midfielder Kevin Prince-Boateng and his teammates walked off the pitch mid-match after racial abuse from fans. Vini Jr. himself was a victim of racial taunts in 2023, and in June 2024 his abusers were sentenced to eight months in prison.
Now Vini Jr. is a victim of racism again, but not from crowds or fans — from the governing body for which he plays. There was no justifiable explanation for Rodri winning over Vinicius Jr. He had better stats, better team success, all while playing in the top league in the world. Everything isn’t always black and white, but this is.
UEFA picked the player they were more comfortable being the face of soccer for the next year even though he didn’t deserve it, and it doesn’t get much more racist than that.
