Things this year have not gotten off to a good start for Vini at all. Madrid lost 4-0 to PSG with Vini actually becoming a meme. Now he’s also gone 16 games without a goal, playing as both striker and left-winger.
As a result of Vini’s terrible performances, Mbappe has had to step up. He did initially have problems being consistent and adapting to Madrid when he first joined but now he has clearly adapted and left Vini in his shadow.
If Vini continues to play this badly, he should be sold to another team. With every bad game, Vini’s market value is only going to decrease. So if Real Madrid doesn’t cash in on him now, when they eventually do, they won’t get half as much as they were supposed to.
In 2024, one of the most controversial decisions happened at the Ballon d’Or ceremony. For those who don’t know what the Ballon d’Or is, it is one of the most prestigious awards in the football world. In most cases, the player who has the most goal contributions and has won trophies usually wins the Ballon d’Or.
In 2024, Real Madrid’s superstar, Vinicius Junior, and his fellow nominees were told by an anonymous source that they did not need to attend the ceremony because Vinicius Jr. was not going to win the Ballon d’Or.
Instead, Manchester City’s Rodri won the Ballon d’Or.
Many people think that Vinicius Jr. was robbed of the award because he found the net 24 times and also gave 14 assists to his teammates as well. In addition to this, he won the Champions League and La Liga as well, a solid double.
Rodri had a decent season in 2024, even though his main goal is to defend, he still wasn’t that great at doing so. He also only managed to get 9 goals and 14 assists this year, which is very low for a Ballon d’Or winner. The only trophies he won were the Euros and the Club World Cup, a cup that almost nobody really pays much attention to, and the Premier League.
The only reason why Rodri won the Premier League and Club World Cup is that he is on Manchester City. Manchester City are infamous because they should have 115 charges against them, but for some reason, the English FFP (Financial Fair Play) board has not put all the 115 Manchester City are accused of in action.
Unlike Man City, Vinicius Jr., and his Real Madrid found success that year.
When Rodri was called up for the Ballon d’Or during the ceremony, everyone was shocked because everybody thought that with the season that Vinicius Jr had, he would be sure to win the Ballon d’Or.
Compared to the previous Ballon d’Or winners like Ronaldo and Messi, who used to score 60+ goals in one season, Rodri should not have won the award. Even though Vini’s stats aren’t as good as Ronaldo’s and Messi’s, his stats were still better than Rodri and nobody really denies that.
Most people think that Vinicius Jr. was robbed of the Ballon d’Or because Rodri’s performances and stats were not very good for a Ballon d’Or winner.
Anytime he tries to defend someone who has skill on the ball, he ends up losing the 1v1 because of his lack of pace. Honestly, with his performances, he should not have won the Ballon d’Or.
Vinicius Jr. should have won the award in 2024. However, after the Ballon d’Or ceremony, Vinicius Jr. has clearly not been the same. He later tweeted the words “I’ll do it 10x times if I have to,” but then proceeded to throw up one of the worst seasons that a Real Madrid winger has ever had.
With the signing of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr. would have to accept more of a sidekick role and help Mbappe succeed as the main man on the team. However, he still thinks that he is the main man, which he was last season, but he doesn’t deliver in games.
In order for one to be the face and “main man” of a team, they have to deliver in all games, and that is something that Vinicius wasn’t able to do. He was very inconsistent because his confidence and morale were shattered, all because he didn’t win the Ballon d’Or. This also caused not only Vini to struggle, but also made the whole team struggle as well.
Vini never picked up his form and also never adapted to his sidekick role. Honestly, Vini should have just listened to what he was told to do because that would have helped the whole team at least come away with one piece of silverware.
If we take a look at the games that Vini failed to deliver, there are a lot. He flopped against Barcelona 4 times which caused the whole team to lose. He also played like he didn’t have legs against Arsenal as well.
Honestly, Vinicius Jr. is out of the Ballon d’Or race and he doesn’t look like he wants to challenge for it either. He didn’t play well under Xabi Alonso, and he still isn’t in any good form.
After 2024, Rodri picked up an injury in a match against Arsenal and was out for the whole season. He did eventually come back this season but he is clearly not the same and this injury would have potentially ended his career.
Vini’s teammate, Kylian Mbappe, is having a stunning season despite Real Madrid’s lack of trophies. As of now, he is the favorite to win the Ballond’or however, Madrid needs to win trophies for this to happen.
If Madrid doesn’t win trophies, Mbappe’s Ballon d’Or hopes will be gone unless he can win the 2026 World Cup happening this year.
