“I will be rooting for him” - Neymar picks 2024 Ballon d'Or winner
Al-Hilal superstar Neymar says he will be rooting for his Brazil teammate and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior to win this year's Ballon d'Or award. Vinicius scored in the UEFA Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, June, 1, and helped his team record a 2-0 win. This marked the 23-year-old's second Champions League triumph with Los Blancos.
Neymar knows Vinicius fairly well, having played 16 matches with him for Brazil. Speaking about who should win the highest individual honor in football this year, Neymar said (via @MadridXtra):
"I will be rooting for Vinicius to win the Ballon d'Or."
Vinicius has been brilliant in the recently concluded season, having scored 24 goals and bagged 11 assists in 39 matches across competitions. He also helped Real Madrid claim the La Liga title.
This year's triumph in the Spanish top flight marked the Brazilian winger's third time winning the trophy. Overall, he has played 264 matches for Real Madrid, bagging 83 goals and 75 assists across competitions.
With the club season now complete, Vinicius will prepare for Copa America, which is set to begin on June 20. However, Brazil will be without star player Neymar, who is undergoing treatment for an ACL injury he picked up in late 2023.
Ex-PSG star offers opinion on why Neymar isn't a Ballon d'Or winner
Former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Javier Pastore has revealed why Neymar isn't a Ballon d'Or winner like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentina captain has won the honor eight times, three more than his Portuguese rival.
However, Neymar has never claimed the prize, and Pastore believes it's because the former never lived football 100 percent.
"Taking out Messi, I have never seen another player as talented as Ney. If he wanted, he would fight for the Ballon d'Or against Messi, Ronaldo, and whoever, but he lives his life in a different way, he does not live for football 100 percent," he told La Nacion.
Injuries and off-field controversies such as the Brazil superstar publicly admitting to infidelity while in a relationship with his partner Bruna Biancardi have hampered him from reaching the lofty heights he was supposed to attain.