France Football has officially informed Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior that he will be the winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or, as reported by Marca.
The announcement of the winner will take place during an event on October 28th.
Vinicius Junior is heavily favored to win the award due to his outstanding performances for Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team during the past year.
The 24-year-old played a crucial role in Real Madrid’s 15th Champions League triumph, scoring six goals, including one in the final, and providing five assists.
The last Brazilian player to win the Ballon d’Or was Kaká in 2007.
Since then, the award has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with only brief interruptions by Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022.
Vinicius Junior is among the finalists for the award along with four of his Real Madrid teammates: Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, and Jude Bellingham.
