Neymar has hit out at this year’s Ballon d’Or rankings and claimed that his Brazil international teammate Vinicius Junior should have been higher in the rankings.
Real Madrid star Vinicius ranked eighth in this year’s standings as his club teammate and Madrid attacking partner Karim Benzema won his maiden Ballon d’Or crown on Monday evening. Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane and Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City completed the top three.
However, Neymar – who was omitted from the 30-player shortlist entirely – was critical of the decision not to rank Vinicius, for whom he lines up alongside at international level for Brazil, in the top three. The talented forward netted the winning goal in this year’s Champions League final and starred as Real Madrid won La Liga and triumphed in Europe. He bagged 21 goals and provided 20 assists across the league and Champions League last season.