Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior has reportedly already been told that he will win the Ballon d'Or for his performances across 2024, a month ahead of the ceremony at the end of October.
The 24-year-old capped off a phenomenal season by scoring in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund in June, becoming the youngest player to score in two finals.
It was Vini Jr who scored the two goals away at Bayern Munich in the first leg of an intense semi-final, and he set up Joselu late on in the second leg to bring Carlo Ancelotti's side level, before going on to progress.
That came after also winning La Liga with Los Blancos, where Vini Jr scored 15 goals to help the club to 95 points, finishing 10 clear of Barcelona in second.
Despite a disappointing Copa America, where Brazil were eliminated in a quarter-final defeat to Uruguay while Vini Jr was suspended, that has seemingly not taken any of the gloss off a superb club season.
Spanish outlet Marca claim that the winger has already been told that he will be awarded the Ballon d'Or during the ceremony on October 28, with his sponsors Nike planning to transform their store in Madrid to celebrate his achievement.
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Who is Vini Jr set to beat to win the Ballon d'Or?
These revelations will be unwelcome news for the likes of Rodri and Jude Bellingham, who were also heavily fancied to take home the award.
Rodri played a huge role in claiming Manchester City's unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title last season, and would go on to be a part of Spain's Euro 2024 winning squad.
Spanish compatriot Dani Carvajal had the most successful season in terms of honours, winning La Liga and the Champions League with Real Madrid, scoring in the final at Wembley, before also winning Euro 2024 alongside Rodri.
Bellingham's debut season at the Bernabeu had him in the conversation too, as the England midfielder scored 23 goals in his first season in Madrid, following his move from Dortmund.
Had Euro 2024 gone in England's favour, Bellingham may have edged the award though, especially after his miraculous overhead kick that kept the Three Lions in the competition against Slovakia in the last 16.
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Messi-Ronaldo era has now truly come to an end
Regardless of whether Vini Jr takes the mantle or not, one thing is for certain, and that is for the first time since 2003, neither Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo will have any chance of winning the award, after both missing out on nominations.
Ronaldo was first nominated in 2004, and eventually won the award in 2008, kickstarting an unprecedented domination of individual accolades between the two superstars.
Messi responded by winning four in a row between 2009 and 2012, and nobody was able to usurp the duo until Luka Modric in 2018, after his Champions League success, and run to the World Cup final with Croatia.
The Argentine won his sixth Ballon d'Or the year after though, and even though Karim Benzema broke up that duopoly in 2022, Messi would win it again in 2023, largely due to his World Cup success with the Albiceleste.
However, after moving to Inter Miami, Messi is not up for consideration this time around, despite winning the Copa America again with Argentina earlier this year.
Ronaldo has continued to shatter goalscoring records since moving to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, but his failure to get beyond the Euro 2024 quarter-finals with Portugal ultimately cost him a nomination too.
Andrew Delaney
