Vinícius Júnior is one of the favorites to win the 2024 Ballon d'Or for good reason.
At just 22 years old, Vinícius Júnior became the next Real Madrid player to wear the number seven shirt, previously donned by the club's greats, Raúl and Cristiano Ronaldo. The pressure to lead Los Blancos into a new era without Ronaldo and Karim Benzema loomed large for the young Brazilian, but in his first season with the iconic number, he played the best soccer of his life.
Real Madrid came into the 2023–24 season on the back of a disappointing year that ended without a La Liga or Champions League title. Questions swirled around Carlo Ancelotti, the team's new signing Jude Bellingham, and the lack of a true No. 9 up top. It seemed like a futile dream to topple Manchester City in Europe or Barcelona in La Liga without a prolific goalscorer leading the line.
Over the course of the season, Vinícius Jr. silenced the doubters one match at a time. The winger scored 15 La Liga goals despite only making 26 appearances, his lowest since 2018, as he dealt with a hamstring injury and a torn thigh muscle. The total marked the second-best production of his La Liga career, behind only his 17-goal haul in the 2021–22 season.
The Brazilian's success propelled Real Madrid to its 36th La Liga title, the club's first since 2021–22. Vinícius Jr. also bagged a hat trick in the 2024 Spanish Super Cup final, sealing the win for Los Blancos over Barcelona.
Vinícius Jr.'s domestic success was enough to get him nominated for the 2024 Ballon d'Or, but his performances in the Champions League skyrocketed him to the top of the shortlist. The winger proved he could deliver on Europe's biggest stage when he scored the winner for Real Madrid in the 2022 UCL final, but Benzema was Los Blancos' best player throughout their winning campaign.
Now, without any of the club's legends to carry the goalscoring load, all eyes went to Vinícius Jr. to get Real Madrid back to a UCL final. He recorded six goals and four assists across ten appearances, including a brace against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the semifinals. The Brazilian also found the back of the net in the 2024 UCL final against Borussia Dortmund, securing Los Blancos' record 15th Champions League title.
At 23 years old, Vinícius Jr. became the youngest player to ever score in two Champions League finals, breaking Lionel Messi's longstanding record. He also became just the fifth player in history to score in his first two UCL finals, behind Samuel Eto'o, Sergio Ramos, Lionel Messi and Mario Mandzukic.
Los Blancos ended its 2023–24 campaign with three titles, something the club could not have achieved without Vinícius Jr.'s playmaking and finishing ability. Despite some of the best defenders in the world on Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City marking Vinícius Jr., the Real Madrid man still found a way to lead his club to more silverware, all while facing racism in away stadiums throughout Europe.
Just recently, a Mallorca fan received a suspended prison sentence for racial abuse spewed at Vinícius Jr. in Son Moix on Feb. 5, 2023. Three months after the Mallorca incident, Real Madrid's match against Valencia on May 21, 2023, required a ten-minute stoppage due to racial insults from the crowd at Mestalla Stadium. Vinícius Jr. and other players of color throughout the globe must perform in the face of such treatment on a regular basis.
The one aspect of Vinícius Jr.'s year working against him in regards to the Ballon d'Or is his poor stint for Brazil at Copa América 2024. The 24-year-old was largely invisible for the Selecao and only managed to score a brace against Paraguay. He also was suspended for Brazil's match against Uruguay in the quarterfinals due to yellow card accumulation. Vinícius Jr. could only sit and watch as his side, one of the favorites to win the competition, lost in a penalty shootout.
The Ballon d'Or, though, is the most prestigious individual honor in soccer, and it is hard to truly say any other player, besides Manchester City's Rodri, came close to replicating Vinícius Jr.'s year for Real Madrid.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Vinicius Junior Should Win the 2024 Ballon d'Or.
