After the 2024 FIFA The Best Player of the Year ceremony, where Vinícius Júnior was awarded the title, the voting results from national team captains were revealed. In a surprising move, Argentina’s captain, Lionel Messi, completely overlooked the Real Madrid star.
Vinícius Júnior, who had an exceptional season, rightfully claimed the FIFA The Best Player of the Year award at the ceremony, which took place this Tuesday. He received the trophy from FIFA president Gianni Infantino just a day before competing in the Intercontinental Cup final against Mexico’s Pachuca FC. Shortly after this achievement, the votes from national team captains were made public. Messi’s choices, however, raised eyebrows.
In contrast to the majority of voters who selected either Vinícius Júnior or Rodri, Messi opted for Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old Barcelona prodigy, as the best player of 2024, despite Barcelona’s trophyless season.
Messi placed Kylian Mbappé second, ahead of Vinícius Júnior, despite the French forward having a difficult season with Paris Saint-Germain, which included limited playtime and a disappointing Euro campaign. Messi ranked Vinícius third, which many considered a strange decision, as it might have cost the Brazilian the award. In the final vote, Vinícius received 48 votes, while Rodri garnered 43, with just five points separating them.
While Messi wasn’t the only captain to rank Vinícius lower, players like Mohamed Salah placed the Real Madrid star at the top of their votes. The final vote tallies showed a strong preference for Vinícius Júnior, with the players (617 votes to 373) and fans (1,147,276 votes to 264,835) strongly supporting him.
Despite Messi’s unusual ranking, Vinícius won the award with a final total of 48 votes, narrowly beating Rodri, who had 43.
