From Ballon d'Or favorite to Real Madrid bench: What's going on with Vini Jr.?

It was expected to beryllium Vinícius Júnior's year. In 2024 Real Madrid's prima guardant had won LaLiga, and he'd won the UEFA Champions League. Next, logically, would beryllium the Ballon d'Or.

Almost everybody thought so, a feeling astir vociferously expressed by erstwhile Manchester United subordinate Rio Ferdinand, who bellowed "Ballon d'Or!" into a microphone six times -- count them -- aft Vini Jr. scored Madrid's 2nd extremity successful the 2024 Champions League final.

But Vinícius didn't triumph the 2024 Ballon d'Or. Rodri did. On Oct. 28 past year, Vinícius and Real Madrid discovered that the Brazil guardant was not astir to headdress a memorable 12 months by claiming the astir prestigious idiosyncratic prize successful football. In fact, he was going to decorativeness arsenic runner-up to the much low-key Manchester City and Spain midfielder.

Madrid's absorption was to boycott the ceremony, cancelling plans for a ample delegation to alert to Paris, and severing ties with organizers France Football.

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In Madrid, second-best isn't astir enough. Vini Jr.'s absorption was 1 of defiance arsenic helium bombastically posted connected societal media: "I'll bash it 10x if I person to. They aren't ready," The connection was clear: If not this year, past adjacent year. It's a substance of time.

But 2025 hasn't been Vinícius' year, either. Real Madrid ended past play without a large trophy, losing a record-breaking 4 Clásicos to Barcelona on the way. At the FIFA Club World Cup nether caller manager Xabi Alonso, Vinícius scored erstwhile successful six games, and truthful acold this season, Alonso hasn't ever looked convinced, benching Vinícius 3 times, including for Sunday's LaLiga win astatine Getafe.

Vinícius, 25, is inactive expected to commencement Sunday's latest Clásico against Barça (stream LIVE connected ESPN+ successful the U.S.), astatine the Santiago Bernabéu. But he'll nary longer spell into the crippled arsenic Madrid's brightest star. That is undoubtedly Kylian Mbappé, who has taken his crippled to different level, scoring successful 10 of the team's 11 games truthful acold this season.

It's been a turnaround successful 12 months, arsenic the seeming inevitability of Vinícius' Ballon d'Or coronation has fixed mode to inconsistent show levels, a diminished presumption successful the R...