Following the announcement of the Ballon d’Or results, Spanish and Manchester City midfielder Rodri was named the best male footballer.
However, this decision sparked debate among football fans, and even led Real Madrid to refuse to attend the ceremony. Many fans believed that Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior deserved the award.
Vinicius Junior had been instrumental in Real Madrid’s Champions League victory, yet he finished second in the voting.
When examining votes from the African continent, it was clear that delegates from countries like Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal, and many others chose the Real Madrid player. Only South Africa, Gabon, and Ghana voted for Rodri.
Of the 22 African journalists who participated, 12 placed Vinicius in the top spot. While Rodri was selected as the winner by a global voting pool of 100 journalists, each chosen from FIFA’s top 100 ranked countries, the African votes showed a 12 to 3 result in favor of Vinicius.
