Magnus Carlsen backs Vinicius Jr after Real Madrid striker’s criticism – Firstpost

Norwegian chess legend Magnus Carlsen backed Brazilian football star Vinicius Jr. after the latter failed to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or in Paris on Monday. Real Madrid striker Vini was considered a strong favorite for the top prize at the 68th annual Ballon d’Or ceremony after helping the Spanish giants win the UEFA Champions League for the 14th time, as well as the 2023-2024 edition of LaLiga.

Ballon d’Or 2024 full ranking, winners

Instead, the
prize went to Spanish midfielder Rodri after helping Manchester City retain the Premier League title and later helping La Roja win this year’s European Championship with a victory over England in the final.

Vinicius finished second in the Ballon d’Or 2024 rankings, while teammates Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal finished third and fourth respectively. Rodri’s City teammate Erling Haaland, the leading goalscorer of the current Premier League season, finished in fifth place.

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Carlsen, currently the top-ranked chess player in the world, was among those who rallied behind the 24-year-old Brazilian forward following his criticism of the annual football awards ceremony presented by French magazine France Football since 1956.

The former world chess champion posted an image of Vini closing his ears, accompanied by a caption that simply contained a gold medal emoji.

pic.twitter.com/bwIqmyfKcv

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) October 29, 2024

Vini not winning the award led to an angry response from Real Madrid, who chose to boycott the event in protest. Vini’s Madrid teammate Eduardo Camavinga branded his criticism as ‘football politics’ and added that the Brazilian was the ‘best player in the world’.

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Why did Ronaldo miss the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony and abstain from voting?

However, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti won the Johan Cruyff Trophy after being named men’s coach of the year.

In terms of other awards, Barcelona women’s Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon d’Or Féminin, while the men’s team’s Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21.