Vinícius Jr. ‘convinced’ he will not win Ballon d’Or | OneFootball

The winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or, unlike in previous years, has been kept under wraps. That doesn’t mean, however, that there hasn’t been an outstanding favourite.

Vinícius Jr. has been the strong favourite to win the coveted award, currently held by Lionel Messi. The Brazilian played a key role in leading Real Madrid to the UEFA Champions League title, including netting in the final against Borussia Dortmund. The editor-in-chief of France Football (the organisers of the award) Vincent García, outlined the criteria for the award during an interview with Téléfoot over the weekend.

“The number one criteria for the Ballon d’Or is individual performance,” he said. Vinícius Jr had an excellent year individually and collectively with Los Blancos, winning the Champions League and La Liga, however, according to RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins, the Brazilian’s entourage is now “convinced” that he will not win the highly-coveted award.

Hawkins adds that everyone in Madrid also has the same feeling. Vinícius Jr. won’t have to wait long to find out with the Ballon d’Or being designated in Paris later on Monday.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle