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.
Neymar shared a post on Twitter that congratulated Benzema on his triumph, but was also critical of Vinicius missing out on a podium finish: “Benzema deserved it. But for Vini, being 8th is not possible. He should at least be in the top three.”
Despite criticism from Neymar, others have defended the ranking of Vinicius – viewing his top eight finish as acknowledgement for his fine campaign in the Spanish capital and his role at international level ahead of this winter’s World Cup finals.
The forward’s Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti commented on his ranking: "I think it's fair, because this allows him to try to improve what he did last year, in which it was almost all new for everyone to see him with that continuity (in the team) and quality. It will motivate him to do even better."
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Vinicius also finished behind Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe and his Real Madrid teammate Thibaut Courtois in the standings. The Belgian shot-stopper was also critical of the list, claiming that it was “impossible” for a goalkeeper to have a chance of winning the top prize.
Courtois said after the ceremony: "I see the Ballon d'Or as impossible to win. You win LaLiga and you win the Champions League, your team wins thanks to your saves... and you only finish 7th. At least they created the trophy for best goalkeeper."
The Belgian's frustrations were echoed by Iker Casillas, himself a legendary goalkeeper with Los Blancos, who questioned what a No 1 must do to receive a higher ranking. He said on social media: "With a huge difference, the best goalkeeper in the world. What I'm not happy about is that he was not included in the final podium for the Ballon d'Or. I still don't understand what those who choose this award are based on."
