Vinicius Júnior, candidate for the Ballon d’Or and with a stopover at the Copa América

with a new Champions League in his sporting history, Vinicius Jrs. can face with full confidence his next challenge, the America Cup (June 20-July 14 in the United States) with Brazil, which could be key in his race towards the Ballon d’Or.

Will the Brazilian be considered the best footballer of the year this year and win the coveted award from France Football magazine, the most important individual award in football? The answer will take a few months, but for the moment it seems to be in pole position.

“Vinicius Jrs. deserves to win the Ballon d’Or, d“There is no doubt about that,” said the coach of the Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, after the success of the final.

There the young 23-year-old Brazilian attacker had scored the final goal against Borussia Dortmundthe one for 2-0, already in the 83rd minute. It was his sixth goal in this Champions League, making him the team’s leading scorer in the competition.

All this after having been the hero of the previous Champions League won by Real Madrid, in 2022, when he scored the goal in the 1-0 victory over Liverpool at the Stade de France in Paris.

Although it is pointed out by many as the favorite, Vinicius Jrs. questions were taken about the Golden Ball on Saturday at Wembley with some distance.

“The Ballon d’Or is a complicated process. I believe in the people who are close to me, around me, they tell me that I am the best and I believe them,” he told Spanish television.

His goal was with a precise left foot in the area, assisted by the Englishman Jude Bellingham, the other man identified as a serious contender in the race to succeed the Argentine Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or honors.

“I’m not really worried,” he said. Bellingham at the beginning of the week, on the “Media Day” of real Madrid on the occasion of the London final. “I can entertain, but no one does that better than Vinicius,” she added.

In the end, Vinicius He was one of the most dangerous men on his team, especially in the second half, in which the real Madrid woke up after a listless first half.

On the way to this Champions League, the Brazilian’s role was key in the first leg of the semi-finals in Munich against Bayern, where he scored a saving double that allowed his team to draw 2-2 in Germany. and avoid hitting the ropes on the way back.

Winning titles is usually a criterion that is taken into account for these individual awards and the players of the real Madrid They have won enormous arguments, with this Champions and with his title also in the Spanish League. Also the German Toni Kroos, who said goodbye to the white club and club football on Saturday, seems in the race.

Now national team tournaments can help one or the other get a reinforcement that can be definitive. jude Bellingham will play with England in the European Championship (June 14-July 14), as will Kroos with the host Germany.

But in Brazil, where their team’s mission is to reconquer the Copa América, they seem to be clear that the Ballon d’Or should in any case go to Vinicius.

“Of all the players involved in the two competitions -Copa América and Eurocopa-, Vini is the one who had a year with the greatest balance,” analyzed the green-yellow coach. Dorival Junior, during a recent charity match.

“For everything he did, it would be a big surprise if he doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or,” he said.

Speaking to ESPN prior to Saturday’s European final, the former Brazilian soccer player Cafu lor was he clear in his bet for the next Ballon d’Or: “Vinicius Jrs.” “For me he is the best in the world,” he noted without circumlocution.

With Vinicius Junior The figure of a young player who has also become a symbol of the fight against racism in stadiums would also be rewarded.

For that reason, the FIFA land was awarded last year the Socrates Prizewhich rewards contributions to a more just society.