Vinicius Jr. seemed to be the first Brazilian balloon d’Or winner in 17 years before the great ceremony of last year.
But the midfield star of Manchester City, Rodri, took the crown, and less than 12 months later Vinicius in Real Madrid looked at a rather difficult magic when he watched from home, as Ousmane Dembele made the main prize.
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A balloon d’Or boykott from the Spanish side suggested that he was sure that he would win before he found out that he actually didn’t.
After all, Vinicius scored 24 goals and 11 templates in the 2023/24 season, in which the titles of Laliga, Champions League and Supercopa de España provided.
The 25-year-old was an ubiquitous feature of the Madrid start Xi when Carlo Ancelotti commanded the Bernabeu-Touchline.
During the first six games of the unbeaten Xabi Alonso -era, Vinicius has not yet been completed for the full 90 minutes.
Read more about the balloon d’Or
One sign of his downturn was that he was called the second largest transfer marketlier after he had a value of 26 million GBP.
He was replaced in the 77th minute of her 2-0 weekend victory against Espanyol and cut an angry expression when he went off the field.
Alonso spoke to the reaction afterwards, and Per Fußball Espana said: “I was a player and when she took me … it wasn’t the best time.
“I like to be close to the players, talk about the games and how they felt. Of course I took it normally. I will not make a big deal of it.”
“The other day everyone was happy … with the victory and the feeling,” he added.
“And we need that – a team. Everyone understands the role we want for the team, and everyone has to contribute to it.”
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Vinicius is accompanied by a large number of talents in Madrid, to which Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Dean Huijsen and Thibaut Courtois belong.
He also sits on two goals and two templates for the campaign, but it is clear that Alonso wants to use his full squad.
Since Vinicius was apparently frustrated by missing minutes, European football expert Andy Brassell rated the dilemma, which Alonso is exposed.
Selection and substitution head pain
Brassell spoke about the Transuropa Express for Talksport and saw Bellingham after his return of his injury as an example of Madrid’s depth.
The midfielder is one of her biggest and best players, but Alonso is also ready to use younger talents through experienced names.
Brassell said: “What will happen to Jude Bellingham?
“And that cannot be mentioned that the other players they have, and the other players who really fell in the absence of Jude Bellingham.
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“I look at Arda Guler, who has been brilliant so far this season, and to a lesser extent that Franco Mastantuono, who was really good on the left, has looked very promising so far.
“Of course you spent a lot of money to bring him from Argentina, 63 million euros, but he looked like it immediately, even though he was a teenager.
“Well, you have so many questions and Alonso talked about it, and he said: ‘Look, I know that Vinicius was annoyed to be removed, and Mastantuono was annoyed about being taken away.
“‘But it’s a squad game, what should I do about it?’ I don’t know if anyone ever said in Real Madrid, but for the first time they have a trainer who says and says.
“Can you imagine saying Cristiano Ronaldo or Raul in the past?” Host Danny Kelly joked.
“[Sergio] Ramos is different. Rain or sunshine, fit or injured, garbage or brilliant, they were always on a team. “
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Back to the first place for Vinicius?
After Vinicius scored 108 goals and achieved 88 appearances for Madrid at 328 appearances, he was a decisive part of her ongoing success.
He grew with Zinedine Zidane and shone under Ancelotti, but with Alonso he is before a new challenge for minutes.
Brassell has proposed that Vinicius may have to win the Spaniard if he is to establish himself as a definitive starter for Madrid.
“It feels like Vinicius has to prove this season again,” he said.
“What is really ridiculous, for someone who, if not the best player in the world, has been very narrow for three, four, five years, but he is in this position, partly because of his contractual situation.
“But as the Xabi Alonso rules, it will be very interesting to see where his place in the hierarchy is because I don’t think it is completely guaranteed.”
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Vini JR Suffering in Ballon d’Orranglists fall
After missing Ballon d’Or fame last year, Vinicius explained on social media: “I do it 10x if I have to. You are not ready.”
In the 2024/25 campaign, he scored 22 goals and 19 templates, which is only shy in front of the previous balance sheet, which typed him for the success of Golden Ball.
However, Vinicius’ fall from Grace was reinforced when he slipped to 16th place in 2025 – just a year after the placement.
Madrid’s lack of cutlery may have been a factor for such a decline because they missed the most important domestic and European honors.
Vinicius now has a value of € 170 million [£148m] Rather than 200 m [£174m]And took 16th place in the Ballon d’Or ranking 2025.
But while its value has dropped, Saudi -Arabic interest worth € 350 million [£305m] suggests that he could still be signed by world record.
Ballon d’Or 2025 ranking in full:
30.: Michael Olise
29.: Florian Wirtz
28.: Virgil van Dijk
27.: Declan Rice
26.: Erling Haaland
25.: Denzel Dumfries
24.: Fabian Ruiz
23.: Jude Bellingham
22.: Alexis Mac Allister
21.: Serhou Guirassy
20.: Lautaro Martinez
19.: Joao Neves
18.: Scott Mctominay
17th: Robert Lewandowski
16.: Vinicius JR
15.: Viktor Gyokoker
14.: Request Doue
13.: Harry Kane
12.: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
11.: Pedri
10.: Nuno Mendes
9.: Gianluigi Donnarumma
8.: Cole Palmer
7.: Kylian Mbappe
6.: Achraf Hakimi
5.: Raphinha
4.: Mohamed Salah
3.: Vitinha
2.: Lamin Yamal
1.: Ousmane Dembele