Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior finally got his hands on the big global player award on Tuesday.
Vinicius was named Male Player of the Year at FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards, while Barcelona’s playmaker Aitana Bonmatti continued to top the women’s football category.
Vinicius, 24, was so disappointed by losing the Ballon d’Or to Manchester City midfielder Rodri in October that he and his Madrid team canceled the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris in protest.
This time Rodri came in second place, 5 points behind Vinicius. The Brazilian forward attended the FIFA awards ceremony after traveling to Doha on Monday with Madrid for the Intercontinental Cup final against Pachuca.
“I don’t know where to start,” Vinicius said in Portuguese. “It was so far away that it seemed impossible to get here. I was a child who played soccer barefoot on the streets of São Gonçalo, close to poverty and crime.
“Coming here is very important to me. I’m doing it for a lot of kids who think everything is impossible and they can’t get here.”
Vinicius echoed these sentiments in an Instagram post, where he took a subtle dig at perhaps Ballon d’Or voters, namely journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.
“Today I am writing to the boy who has seen so many of his idols lift this trophy. Your time has come,” he wrote. “Or, my time has come. The time has come to say: Yes, I am the best player in the world and I fought hard for it.”
“They have tried and are still trying to invalidate and diminish me. But they are not ready. No one will tell me who I should fight for or how I should behave.”
Vinicius has suffered racist abuse in Spain and said earlier this year that he was “losing the will to play”, but added: “I will keep fighting.”
Bonmati won the Best Female Player of the Year award, earning her back-to-back awards from FIFA’s version of the older and more prestigious Ballon d’Or awards.
The 26-year-old Spanish midfielder has won the Ballon d’Or for the second year in a row and won the Spanish League, Spanish Cup and Champions League with Barcelona in 2024.
“I am grateful to receive this award. As I always say, this is a team effort,” Bonmati said. “It was a good year. It was very difficult to repeat. I am grateful to the people who help me get better every day. From the club, to my teammates who always help me become better.”
FIFA said the winners were decided through an ‘equally weighted voting system’ by fans, all current national team captains, coaches and media representatives.
There were 11 nominees for both awards, with competitors selected based on performance from August 21, 2023 to August 10, 2024.
years of experience
Vinicius enjoyed the best season of his career for Madrid, scoring 24 goals in 39 appearances and helping the Spanish side win their 15th European Cup and second Champions League title.
He also scored in the final, becoming the youngest player to score in two Champions League finals.
Madrid team-mate Jude Bellingham finished third ahead of Dani Carvajal and Lamine Yamal, while Lionel Messi, who has won the award for the past two years, finished sixth.
The best male coach was Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, and the best female coach was American coach Emma Hayes.
Hayes led the USWNT to gold at the Paris Olympics in August. The Women’s Goalkeeper Award went to their shot-stopper Alyssa Naeher. Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the men’s award for the second year in a row.
Alejandro Garnacho won the FIFA Puskas Award for his stunning overhead strike for Manchester United against Everton in November 2023.
Marta won an award named after her (the inaugural FIFA Marta Award) for her goal for Brazil against Jamaica last June.
