Vinicius 'lost votes because of two players' claims Ballon d'Or organisers

Ballon d'Or organisers have been quick to respond to the controversial absence of Vinicius Jnr and Real Madrid stars from Monday's ceremony.

Despite being billed as one of the favourites to win football's greatest prize for solo achievements over the past year, the Brazilian forward came second place to Manchester City's Rodri.

After reports had emerged earlier in the day that Vinicius would not be lifting the iconic golden ball, Real Madrid reportedly were not left too pleased by the decision, while ESPN Brazil claimed club sources called it a 'historic robbery'.

Given Rodri was the key figure in arguably the best club team and the best national team of 2024 in City and Spain, it would appear to be a justifiable call to hand the award to him, however Vinicius Jnr seemingly remains unconvinced.

Yet after the gala in Paris, the editor-in-chief of France Football - who are in charge of the award - gave his verdict on why the Brazilian missed out, and commented on his controversial absence.

'Obviously, Vinicius surely suffered from the presence of Bellingham and Carvajal in the top 5 because, mathematically, that took away some points from him. This also sums up Real Madrid's season, which took between three and four players and the judges shared their decisions between them, which benefited Rodri,' explained Vincent Garcia.

He added: 'I had a lot of pressure from Real Madrid but, as with other clubs, I was always clear, fair and perhaps my silence pushed them to the limit.

'But it was the same as with the others. I was very unpleasantly surprised by his absence.'

On any other evening it would have been considered nothing short of a massive success for the Spanish side.

Real Madrid picked up awards for the best team of the year, as well as men's manager of the year for Carlo Ancelotti.

However, in addition to the fact that their star man missed out on the individual men's gong, arch nemesis Barcelona had a successful evening too.

Their universally acclaimed La Masia academy produced yet another Kopa Trophy winner in Lamine Yamal, and superstar Aitana Bonmati earned a second successive women's Ballon d'Or award as well.

Meanwhile, Vinicius had been the overwhelming favourite to win the Ballon d'Or this year, having scored 24 goals and registered 11 assists during a stellar campaign last time out.

RMC reported that Madrid president Florentino Perez was furious with the decision.

Journalist Jose Luis Sanchez claimed a 50-strong party was scheduled to jet out, only for them to cancel after discovering Vinicius would not win.

Sources at the club told ESPN Brazil that the snub was 'historic robbery'.

Marca also reported that Madrid insiders have furiously declared 'the Ballon d'Or no longer exists for us'.

A statement from Madrid to AFP said: 'If the award criteria doesn't give it to Vinicius as the winner, those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner.

'As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d'Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected.'

In response to Madrid's boycott, the organisers of the Ballon d'Or said in a statement: 'No player and no club knows the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or yet.'

Vinicius and Jude Bellingham were set to take their seats in the front row at the Theatre du Chatelet but their name tags were swiftly removed after it was confirmed they would not be in attendance.