Vinicius Junior, Ballon d’Or disappointment and Real Madrid’s furious reaction

On Sunday, not even 24 hours after the heavy blow of losing El Clasico 4-0 to Barcelona at the Bernabeu, there was another seismic shift at Real Madrid.

From the highest levels of the club came the order to cancel Monday’s planned trip to Paris, where everyone was expecting, among other prizes, Vinicius Junior to win the Ballon d’Or.

Real Madrid were told that would not be the case, and that the winner would not be Dani Carvajal either. The defender, who won last summer’s Euros with Spain was Los Blancos’ other major candidate.

At the club’s offices, they argued that if Vinicius Jr did not win and they looked to the European Championship, Carvajal would have to be ahead of the rest, including another Madrid player, England’s Jude Bellingham.

But neither Vinicius Jr nor Carvajal would ultimately lift the trophy, prompting indignation and anger in Madrid. As a result, no one from the club was present at the event to see Rodri, another of Spain’s Euros winners but a star for Premier League champions Manchester City, crowned the world’s best footballer for 2023-24.

Here, The Athletic takes you inside a horrible 48 hours for Vinicius Jr and Madrid.

No one at Real Madrid expected this outcome.

More than in previous years, much effort was made to maintain secrecy and to avoid the identities of the award winners from leaking. Interviews and photoshoots that used to take place before the ceremony were delayed until afterwards.

While some reports in Spain indicated Vinicius Jr would be named the winner for the first time, The Athletic reported on Monday that neither Real Madrid, Vinicius Jr nor most of those who work at France Football (the publication which created the award) knew the winner.

Previously, there had been complete confidence in Madrid that Vinicius Jr would lift the trophy.

“I think he’s going to win the Ballon d’Or because of what he has done last year, which helped us win the Champions League, not because of the three goals today,” Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday after the 24-year-old’s hat-trick inspired his team to a comeback victory over Borussia Dortmund.

That hope was partly a consolation, a painkiller for the home drubbing by Barcelona on Saturday, a result which took Hansi Flick’s side six points clear at the top of La Liga.

On Sunday morning, however, Vinicius Jr was informed he would not win the Ballon d’Or. It was a shock for him and all those around him, even though in the weeks leading up to it they always maintained they did not know what would happen.

The player and his staff had prepared in detail for the trip, with around 30 companions due to travel, including people from his agency, family and friends. Some of his guests had travelled from Brazil expressly for this purpose. An after-party was also planned for the event on Monday.