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While there has been no official confirmation that this was the reason, it appears that Vinicius Junior, who finished second in the Ballon d’Or poll behind Rodri Hernández, was behind Real Madrid’s non-attendance. Vinicius posted after the winner was announced that he was going for it “ten times more” later and generally seemed upset by the verdict.
He assured after The Best award, which he did win, that he is now the best player in the world. While the Ballon d’Or could have damaged his ego, there are millions of other reasons why Vinicius could have been frustrated by the verdict.
Diario AS details that Vinicius will go from earning 15 million euros annually to 20 million euros annually in the last two years of his contract (which extends until 2027), a significant increase of 33% and a difference of 10 million euros in total. The Best award triggered bonuses in his contract, and it is presumed that the Ballon d’Or award would have triggered the same, or perhaps even meant additional bonuses.
Clearly, this is all relative to their winnings, but most would be upset at the prospect of losing €10 million, beyond their overall hopes of winning the prize. Los Blancos are set to offer him a new contract next summer, amid interest from Saudi Arabia, as he moves towards the final stages of his deal. It should be noted that some media outlets question Vinicius’ current base salary, saying it is close to €10 million per year.
