The Athletic has launched a series of sports debates in which two writers break down a specific topic. In this edition, Sam Lee and Guillermo Rai discuss whether Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri or Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Junior should win the 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or.
The winner of the men’s Ballon d’Or will be announced on Monday. There are 30 players on the shortlist but two have stood out as the leading contenders for the prize, which recognises the best footballer in the world over the previous 12 months.
Vinicius Junior shone for Real Madrid last season, helping them win the Spanish title and the Champions League, and the Brazilian has continued that form into 2024-25, with a Champions League hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
Then there is Rodri, the Manchester City midfielder, who was just as central to his club’s successes last season, winning the European Super Cup, the Club World Cup and a fourth straight Premier League. He added to those trophies over the summer, winning the European Championship with Spain in July, before his participation in the current campaign was ended by a knee ligament injury last month.
Two of our writers have made the case for each one and there is the opportunity for you to cast your vote at the bottom of this article.
GO DEEPER
How is the Ballon d’Or 2024 winner decided?
The argument for Rodri
By Sam Lee, Manchester City correspondent
There is a strong case for Vinicius Jr, given he won La Liga and the Champions League — with a goal in the final — but it surely has to be Rodri, not just for his continued excellence with City but for his massive contribution to Spain’s Euro 2024 victory, too.
City fans have appreciated his consistency and influence for years and, if we are talking about goals in Champions League finals, then Rodri’s Ballon d’Or shout is a year late, considering the role he played in City’s treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in 2022-23.
But the rest of the world would have found that easier to recognise by watching the Euros, where he was voted player of the tournament in Germany.
During Spain’s celebrations after their return to Madrid, the midfielder was the centre of attention, reflecting his contribution on the pitch as they won their first major trophy since the golden era when the Spanish swept the board between 2008 and 2012 (although, if we are counting, Rodri also won the Nations League with Spain last year, a week after the Champions League final — where he was named player of that tournament, too).
Of course, Lionel Messi won the World Cup with Argentina during the same period and was always going to win the 2023 award. That is fair enough. But this time, there cannot be an argument against Rodri, who has been the most important player to two of the most dominant teams of this voting period, which lasts from August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024.
Rodri was key to Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Up until his injury in September, he had lost just one match in 18 months for club and country, and while there will be a few City players who do not taste defeat very often, the stat that really hammers home Rodri’s importance is that the club played four league games without him last season and were beaten in three of them.
Rodri is so influential because he has an impact in every phase of play, in every area of the pitch.
He was already the best holding midfielder in the world before last season, breaking down the opposition’s attacks with his unique blend of physicality and game intelligence. But he also added more goals to his game, meaning he could rampage through defences and win games, too. No City player was more frequently involved in build-up moves that resulted in a shot last season.
Even City, probably the most versatile and consistent team on the planet for at least five years, struggle without Rodri. There is no real alternative to him in world football, let alone at one club, so manager Pep Guardiola has felt the need to use two players — at least — to cover for his absences. The team have often looked less effective as a result.
Midfielders rarely win this award, but that is surely down to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominating it for the past two decades, not just because they are forwards but because of their huge influence.
That period probably ended with Messi’s World Cup win almost two years ago. If we want our big prize winners to be the best and most influential players, it has to be Rodri.
The argument for Vinicius Junior
By Guillermo Rai, Real Madrid correspondent
If Vinicius Jr is the favourite to receive the 2024 Ballon d’Or, it is not only because of the titles he has helped his team win. The criteria for this award focus on “individual performances, decisive and impressive character”.
We only have to remember three moments in last season’s Champions League to show how Vinicius Jr stood out: his goal in the round-of-16 second leg at the Bernabeu that prevented RB Leipzig from giving Madrid a scare, his two goals in the first leg of the semi-final away to Bayern Munich, and his clinching goal in the final against Borussia Dortmund.
Vinicius Jr scored in the Champions League final win over Dortmund (Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Although he did not start last season well (two injuries kept him sidelined for more than two months before Christmas), he finished 2023-24 as Madrid’s top scorer with 24 goals. In terms of numbers, it was the best year of his career and even surpassed team-mate Jude Bellingham (23 goals), who had started the season playing the role of leader.
Vinicius Jr’s contributions also helped Madrid win La Liga and despite the pressure he faced at opposition stadiums — not to mention suffering from numerous cases of racism — he became the most entertaining and dangerous player to watch in the final stretch of the season. His influence means Carlo Ancelotti’s system gravitates down Madrid’s left, where Vinicius Jr’s dribbling causes havoc to opposition defenders (graphic below).
Looking again at the award’s criteria, “team performances and achievements” are important, too.
Despite being only 24, Vinicius Jr has 13 titles in six years with Madrid, including winning the Champions League twice and La Liga three times. Yes, Rodri won the European Championship this summer, whereas Vinicius Jr’s Brazil went out of the Copa America in the quarter-finals, but when the two players’ clubs met last season, Madrid came out on top, beating City on penalties after their Champions League semi-final finished 4-4 on aggregate.
The third main criterion to be taken into account is ‘class and fair play’ and in this respect, Vinicius last year received the Socrates Trophy from France Football magazine for his work with the Vini JR Institute to contribute to the education of children at risk of social exclusion in his homeland.
There are even more arguments for awarding him the Ballon d’Or, but these are the ones the voters take into account and they amply demonstrate why Vinicius Jr should win it.
Who gets your vote?
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(Top photos: Getty Images)
