A swipe at the Ballon d’Or
©IMAGO
On Friday evening, Vinicius Junior (24) from Real Madrid was awarded two trophies at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai. The multiple world footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (39) was also there and gave a swipe to the organizers of the Ballon d’Or, who had named Manchester City’s Rodri (28) the best player. “That’s why I love Globe Soccer. You gave the honest price,” said the Al-Nassr attacker.
The Globe Soccer Awards, which have been held in Dubai since 2010, honor the best footballers, similar to the Ballon d’Or or FIFA The Best, but do not enjoy the same prestige. The winners are determined based on votes from fans and a jury that includes former stars such as Francesco Totti and Iker Casillas. Vinicius Junior received the awards for the best footballer and the best attacker of the year.
The Brazilian was previously named the best player by FIFA and had to give way to the Spanish European champion Rodri for the Ballon d’Or. “That was unfair, in my opinion,” said Cristiano Ronaldo. “They gave it to Rodri, he deserved it too. But I think they should have given it to Vinicius because he won the Champions League and scored the winning goal.” The Portuguese was awarded the special prize for his career goals scored so far. “But I’m not done yet. I will continue because I want to win titles, I want to be champion, I want to score more goals.”
In his acceptance speech, Vinicius Junior was able to echo Ronaldo’s words. “When Cristiano says I’m the best player, I believe it,” said Real Madrid’s number seven. The two never played together for the Royals, because when Ronaldo left them in the summer of 2018, the then 18-year-old Vinicius Junior strengthened the Spanish record champions. By the summer of 2024, he was the most expensive player aged 18, ahead of Endrick (18), for whom Real paid Palmeiras €47.5 million, and Leny Yoro (19), whose services were worth €62 million to Manchester United , overtook him.
CR7 advisor Mendes sees Lamine Yamal as the best player
In addition to Ronaldo, his manager Jorge Mendes, who won the award for best advisor, was also there. He has a different opinion than Ronaldo and sees his client Lamine Yamal (17) at the forefront. “Lamine was the best player in the world in 2024, but people didn’t vote for him because he’s only 17,” Mendes said. “They didn’t vote for Lamine because they think he would have more time to win the prize.” Lamine Yamal was the youngest footballer to win the European Championship and attracted attention with good performances in the FC Barcelona jersey. After the market value update in LaLiga, his market value rose by 30 million to 180 million euros, making him the third most valuable player in the world along with Jude Bellingham (21).
With a market value of 180 million euros, he is also the most valuable professional at Mendes’ agency Gestifute, where stars such as Rúben Dias (27), Bradley Barcola (22) and Warren Zaïre-Emery (18) are under contract.