The Best Awaits Vinícius Jr. After "Losing" the Ballon d'Or

The Best Awaits Vinícius Jr. After "Losing" the Ballon d'Or

It will be hard to forget October 28th, in fact, we could call this date “The day Vinícius Jr. lost the Ballon d'Or.” However, a new individual award is approaching, where he faces tough competition and which could add “salt to the wound” caused by seeing Rodri win the previous prize.

The Real Madrid player was one of the big favorites to win the Ballon d'Or, but the Manchester City midfielder took home the prize. The 24-year-old Brazilian forward led the Madrid side to win La Liga and the Champions League; however, it wasn’t enough.

In this context, the Spanish team’s management decided to skip the gala in Paris, leading to a series of criticisms toward the institution. A club source commented at the time to ESPN that it was “unfair” and “shameful” that "Vini" wasn’t chosen as the winner. Hence the protest in the form of not traveling to participate in what, according to another source from the club, was considered “a historic robbery.”

Now, Vinícius Jr. faces The Best, an award that has existed since 2016, and where no Brazilian player has ever won. If he succeeds, he would become the third Real Madrid player to win it, after Cristiano Ronaldo (2016, 2017) and Luka Modrić (2018).

The Best FIFA Football Award Winners

2016

🏆 Cristiano Ronaldo
🥈 Lionel Messi
🥉 Antoine Griezmann

2017

🏆 Cristiano Ronaldo
🥈 Lionel Messi
🥉 Neymar

2018

🏆 Luka Modrić
🥈 Cristiano Ronaldo
🥉 Mohamed Salah

2019

🏆 Lionel Messi
🥈 Virgil van Dijk
🥉 Cristiano Ronaldo

2020

🏆 Robert Lewandowski
🥈 Cristiano Ronaldo
🥉 Lionel Messi

2021

🏆 Robert Lewandowski
🥈 Lionel Messi
🥉 Mohamed Salah

2022

🏆 Lionel Messi
🥈 Kylian Mbappé
🥉 Karim Benzema

2023

🏆 Lionel Messi
🥈 Erling Haaland
🥉 Kylian Mbappé

The Best Nominees

Who Can Win The Best?

The nominees have been chosen based on their performance from August 21, 2023, to August 10, 2024.

FIFA has revealed the nominees for the prestigious The Best FIFA Football Awards™ 2024, which will celebrate the best of both men's and women's football, from clubs and national teams. Additionally, this edition brings exciting new features for fans, who will have a more prominent role in selecting the winners.

Categories in which you can vote:

Football fans can now cast their votes in the following categories:

The Best FIFA Men’s Player

The Best FIFA Women’s Player

The Best FIFA Men’s Football Coach

The Best FIFA Women’s Football Coach

The Best FIFA Goalkeeper

The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper

In all these categories, fan votes will carry the same weight as those cast by national team captains and coaches, as well as media representatives.

Exclusive Awards for Fans

This year, fans will be solely responsible for selecting the winner of the FIFA Fan Award. In addition, they will have a voice in selecting the recipient of the FIFA Puskás Award, which honors the best goal of the year, regardless of league or player nationality.

For the first time, the FIFA Marta Award will be presented, recognizing the best goal in women’s football, named after the Brazilian legend Marta.

New Feature: FIFA’s Best XI

In a 2024 first, fans will also be able to participate in the selection of both the Men's and Women's FIFA Best XI. From a list of 77 nominees (22 defenders, 22 midfielders, 22 forwards, and 11 goalkeepers), voters can pick their favorites to form the ideal team. Fan votes will carry the same weight as those of a panel of FIFA Legends.