Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sticks up for Real Madrid buddy Vinicius Jr. following Ballon d'Or snub: "Best player in the world"
OKC Thunder superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacted to the controversial result of the 2024 Ballon d'Or. Gilgeous-Alexander is good friends with Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr., who was favored to win the prestigious award but lost to Manchester City midfield maestro Rodri on Monday.
In an Instagram story, SGA showed his support for Vini Jr. who helped Real Madrid win the Champions League and La Liga last season. Vinicius is considered by many as one of the best players in the world, and that's how the Thunder star described him as well.
"The best player in the world," Gilgeous-Alexander wrote in his Instagram story.
Vinicius Jr. was the presumptive winner of the 2024 Ballon d'Or after leading Real Madrid to continental and domestic success last season. However, Manchester City's Rodri earned the award after beating out the Brazilian forward, who finished second.
Rodri won the Premier League with Manchester City and two other titles last season. He was also a vital part of the Spain squad that won the 2024 European Championships in the summer. Rodri is considered one of the best midfielders in the world but is currently out for the season with a knee injury.
Due to Vinicius' snub, the entire Real Madrid squad didn't attend Monday's ceremony despite winning the Team of the Year. Four more Madrid players were in the top 10, including Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Kylian Mbappe and the recently retired Toni Kross.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Vinicius Jr. seemingly sent a warning to the rest of the world.
"I'll do it 10x if I have to. They're not ready," Vini Jr. tweeted (as translated from Portuguese.)
Vinicius Jr. had 15 goals and six assists for Real Madrid in La Liga and six goals and five assists in the Champions League. He scored Madrid's second goal in their 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at the Wembley in London.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's friendship with Vinicius Jr.
One of the most famous NBA-soccer connection in the world is possibly Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat and Neymar Jr. of Al-Hilal. The two forged a friendship before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Butler watching Neymar's games for his former club PSG and vice versa.
A new budding friendship is developing between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the OKC Thunder and Vinicius Jr. of Real Madrid. The two first met in 2023 when SGA spent some time in Spain and hung out with the Brazilian forward.
Here's what the MVP runner-up said about his friendship with Vini Jr. in an interview with Kim Kardashian:
"He's a soccer player that I've been able to connect with. He's a cool guy."
Vini Jr. showed his support for SGA last season when he attended an OKC Thunder game in December when Real Madrid was on its Christmas break.