Real Madrid were aware of Vinicius’ Ballon d’Or loss before 0-4 defeat vs Barcelona | OneFootball

Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr. endured a difficult period last week as his team not only lost 0-4 in El Clasico against Barcelona but he also missed out on the Ballon d’Or title.

Vinicius not winning the Ballon d’Or, in particular, surprised many, including Real Madrid, who decided not to attend the event after learning Rodri had won the title.

Vinicius, after all, was widely regarded as the favourite to lift the prestigious award following a stellar 2023/24 campaign. Hopes were high for the Brazilian’s triumph even after the loss to Barcelona.

Real Madrid were informed of Vinicius’ fate earlier

However, Cadena SER has recently made a shocking claim, suggesting that Real Madrid were informed of Vinicius’ fate in the Ballon d’Or well ahead of their game against Barcelona.

Indeed, the report suggests Real Madrid had suspicion on Friday itself about Vinicius potentially losing out to Rodri, in the race for the Ballon d’Or title.

Real Madrid had a feeling Vinicius won’t win the Ballon d’Or (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The report further adds that Vinicius’ entourage also felt the forward could miss out on the title. This was not due to any kind of tip-off but was pure intuition.

Real Madrid kept quiet

Despite anticipating Vinicius’ fate in the Ballon d’Or, Real Madrid chose to remain quiet and did not inform him about their intuition.

This was done so that the Brazilian would not lose focus heading into an important encounter against Barcelona.

Real Madrid’s decision, though, did not quite matter as the team got completely outclassed by a rejuvenated Barcelona team.

On Monday, Vinicius was eventually informed of his fate, as did Real Madrid, causing the player and the club to boycott the event, in solidarity with the Brazilian.