Vinicius Jr and Nike’s blockbuster celebrations cancelled after Rodri crashes Ballon d’Or party | OneFootball

Rodri’s success at the 2024 Ballon d’Or awards on Monday night forced both Vinicius Jr and his lead sponsors Nike to cancel blockbuster celebration plans of their own.

The Manchester City and Spain international made history in the French capital this week by becoming the first traditional defensive midfielder to win the award for the best footballer on the planet since Lothar Matthaus in 1990.

It was the ultimate crowning glory for a player who has been successively at the very top of the game for the best part of three seasons, winning the Premier League, UEFA European Championships, and FIFA Club World Cup in the last season in particular.

In addition to the goals and assists provided across competitions at crucial phases of Manchester City and Spain’s outings, Rodri has also been awarded Player of the Tournament at both the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia and EUROs in Germany.

His humility off the field has also seemingly worked in his favour, with those voting on the awards recognising the humble nature of the Manchester City midfielder, which is in stark contrast to one of his main competitors to the prize – showcased by a new report.

According to the information of The Athletic’s Mario Cortegana, both Vinicius Jr and his staff had ‘prepared in detail’ for the trip to Paris on Monday night for the Ballon d’Or ceremony, with ‘around 30 companions’ due to travel, including those from his agency, family and friends.

It is further revealed that some of the Real Madrid forward’s guests had travelled from Brazil expressly for the purpose of being in attendance in the French capital for an expected success, while an after-party had also been planned.

Furthermore, Nike had reportedly prepared ‘special boots’ to celebrate an eventual victory for Vinicius Jr, and had also organised an event in Madrid which the footballer, those close to him and influencers were due to attend.

With the emergence of Rodri’s success at the Ballon d’Or coming to the attentions of those within Vinicius Jr’s camp and Real Madrid, all plans to travel to the ceremony were cancelled by Los Blancos.

As such, no representative from the La Liga giants was present in Paris on Monday night to claim their Men’s Club of the Year, Men’s Coach of the Year, and Gerd Muller Trophy successes across the board.

Manchester City on the other hand were represented in Paris by the Director of Football Txiki Begiristain, CEO Ferran Soriano, as well as first-team stars Ruben Dias and Savinho – with the latter ranked fourth in pursuit of the Kopa Trophy.