Cristiano Ronaldo has said he believes Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior was unfairly snubbed for this year's men's Ballon d'Or award.
Speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards on Friday, Ronaldo said Vinícius deserved the prize over Manchester City's Rodri. Vinícius and his Madrid teammates boycotted the ceremony in Paris hosted by France Football magazine.
"In my opinion, he [Vinícius] deserved to win the golden ball [Ballon d'Or award]," Ronaldo said. "It was unfair in my opinion. I say here in front of everybody. They give it to Rodri, he deserved it too, but they should have given it to Vinícius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final."
Vinícius was later awarded FIFA's The Best men's player award earlier this month and won Globe Soccer's best men's prize on Friday, while Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati won the women's player of the year award, her latest such honour.
Ronaldo, who has won five Ballon d'Ors but was not shortlisted for this year's prize, criticised France Football magazine.
"You know these galas, they always do the same thing," he said.
Ronaldo then praised Globe Soccer, who named him Best Middle East Player of 2024 on Friday.
The Portugal international has scored 74 goals in 83 games since joining on a free transfer in January 2023 after leaving Manchester United.
Ronaldo took aim at his old club, saying the club is still struggling from issues stemming from more deep-rooted issues.
"The problem of Manchester United is the same," he said. "The problem is not always the coach. It's much more than that.
"If you have the fish inside and he's sick and you take him out and you fix the problem and you put him again in an aquarium you will be sick again."
