No Newcastle United players were involved in what has proven to be a controversial 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
While Newcastle United have world class players like Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes, they were not nominated for the honour of being named the best in the world.
Instead, that title has gone to Rodri. The Manchester City midfielder has taken the top prize, finishing ahead of Real Madrid superstars Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.
That has come as a surprise to many, with a lot of footballers and pundits expecting Vinicius Junior to take home the gold – including Bruno Guimaraes.
Bruno Guimaraes’ message to Vinicius Junior
Following the ceremony, the Newcastle United midfielder took to his official Instagram account to send a message to Vinicius Junior after he came second in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
Alongside a picture of them playing together for Brazil, Bruno wrote on Instagram: “Brother! You are the pride of our country and our best in the world. We’ll always be with you.”
Vinicius Jr boycotts Ballon d’Or
The support for Vinicius Junior comes after he opted against attending the event in Paris.
Ahead of the ceremony beginning, it was reported that the Real Madrid superstar would not be making his presence felt after discovering that he would not be winning. In short, he boycotted it.
There has been a lot of anger and disappointment at Vinicius Junior not winning the Ballon d’Or. That is epitomised by the amount of support he is getting from the likes of Bruno Guimaraes.
It feels a little bit disrespectful towards Rodri, who is the best player in the world in his position. If anything, Bruno should take Rodri winning the Ballon d’Or as a compliment. That is because it has previously been reported that Man City think Bruno is good enough to replace Rodri in their midfield.
Newcastle need their top players to find form
Bruno is not happy to see his international teammate get snubbed, while the 26-year-old will have aspirations of being nominated for the award himself in the future.
For that to happen, he will need to take his game to the next level. The same can be said of Newcastle’s other top stars, who are yet to burst into life during what has been a difficult start to the 2024/25 season.
Eddie Howe‘s side have plenty of issues, one of which being Newcastle’s top stars not playing to the standard they are capable of.
While football is a team game, individuals need to stand up and take responsibility.
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