Real Madrid 'furious' after shock Vinicius Junior claim prior to Monday's ceremony

Ahead of the awards night in Paris, there is the rare occurrence of neither Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo being in the running to be given the accolade.

Instead, Vinicius Junior and Manchester City midfielder Rodri are regarded as the clear frontrunners to be crowned the best player in the world for 2024.

Over the past 24 hours, it has been alleged that Vinicius Junior is in line to win the award, as well as the positions of the top 12 also being revealed.

That seemingly came through a list being leaked on social media, the Brazil international apparently being in line to beat Rodri to the trophy by 54 points.

Vinicius Junior will not win Ballon d'Or?

However, according to French journalist Fabrice Hawkins, who was commenting on X, Real Madrid are 'certain' that one of their star men will not win the trophy.

That has since been backed up by Trivela, with president Florentino Perez behind the decision of preventing the club's delegation from making the trip to Paris.

Real Madrid won last season's La Liga title and Champions League, subsequently having six players named among the 30 nominees.

As well as Vinicius Junior being beaten into second place, it is reported by the same outlet that Jude Bellingham finished in third position.

Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde were also selected by the voting panel.

Nevertheless, it appears that they will all remain in Madrid ahead of the showdown at Valencia on Saturday evening.

Is Rodri a deserved winner?

When the initial leak had suggested that Vinicius Junior would be receiving the award, there was justification with 21 goals and 11 assists coming in Spain's top flight and Europe last season.

The 24-year-old has already chipped in with eight strikes and six assists during 2024-25 with Rodri sidelined in the long term with a serious knee injury.

On the flip side, however, Rodri helped guide Manchester City to the Premier League title and he was influential in Spain's Euro 2024 triumph.

Rodri participated in 50 games for Man City in all competitions last season, it going under the radar that he netted nine goals and contributed 14 assists.