Real Madrid News
2024 Socrates award winner’s brother makes shocking claim on Vinicius: ‘They told him he was going to win Ballon d’Or’
The Ballon d’Or ceremony of 2024, many believe, was the point where Vinicius Jr. ceased to be his usual self.
The Real Madrid superstar was poised to be named the best player on the planet on that night and was even set to travel to France to receive the award.
At the last moment, however, word broke out that Rodri had overtaken him as the winner, prompting an understanding breakdown for the player and causing Real Madrid to boycott the event completely.
Eventually, the Brazilian did not win and it was the now-Barcelona midfielder who was named the best in the world. Since that day, the Real Madrid forward has not consistently maintained his level and has not shone at the same level again.
To this day, however, there has been no clarity on whether the player was informed of having won the award or whether it was just media speculation at its job.
A shocking confession
Jenni Hermoso, Spain’s all-time women’s top scorer and five-time Pichichi winner, won the Socrates award in the same year.
As reported by Diario AS in a recent update, her brother recently came out on social media to make a massive claim.
In his shocking post, which he later deleted, Hermoso’s brother stated that Vinicius Jr. was told that he had won the Ballon d’Or ahead of the ceremony, only for everything to fall apart at the end.
“Look, I’m going to tell you a secret that I think I can tell now. I’ll try to summarise it. They invited us to their house for dinner. They told him that he was going to win the Ballon d’Or, and he had a place in his trophy cabinet ready for it,” he began on Vinicius.
He even went on to claim that there was an open discussion between his sister and Vinicius about the Brazilian’s award and how they initially planned to hand each other their accolades.
“My sister was going to receive an award for social merits, or something like that. They agreed that she would present him with the Ballon d’Or, and he would present her with her award. And we already know what happened afterwards,” he concluded.
While the veracity of these claims remains up in the air, Vinicius continues his quest for football’s top individual honour and has been nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, alongside his Real Madrid teammates Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, and Marc Cucurella.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho reacts to Vinicius suspension: “Why announce it two hours before an important match?”
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has questioned the RFEF Disciplinary Committee’s decision to announce Vinicius Jr.’s four-match suspension just hours before their UEFA Champions League meeting with AS Roma on Wednesday.
The Brazilian has been hit with a four-match ban for his red card against Villarreal, meaning he will miss the matches against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander, and Valencia.
And, speaking to Movistar+ (h/t MARCA) before the match, the Real Madrid manager was asked whether the punishment could affect the Brazilian psychologically.
Mourinho instead turned his attention to the football authorities and the timing of their announcement.
“I think that is a question for the Committee. Why have they announced the suspension at this particular moment? If you are asking me this question, it is presumably because you think it could affect him,” the Portuguese coach replied.
“You should ask the Committee why they did not announce it this morning, or tomorrow morning. Why do they do it two hours before a match that is important for Real Madrid, which is a Spanish club?” he added, questioning the timing of the decision.
Mourinho explains his tactical approach against Roma
The Real Madrid manager also outlined his plan for facing a Roma side known for their aggressive pressing.
“My intention is to stop them from pressing us so high up the pitch, given the players we have available and as a precaution,” he said.
Continuing, the Portuguese manager added: “They press man-to-man higher up the pitch better than anyone else, and we will see whether we can take advantage of that. If not, they will have to drop their press five or ten metres.”
Why Rudiger over Huijsen
Mourinho also justified his decision to start Antonio Rudiger at centre-back alongside Ibrahima Konate rather than Dean Huijsen.
“They played very well together in the last match, Rudiger and Konate, showing great leadership and the ability to withstand a difficult situation when we had ten men for 30 minutes,” he said.
“I am not saying Dean is not capable of playing a match like this, but this is a wonderful atmosphere for Roma and a difficult one for us. I think a player with Antonio’s experience can be important,” Mourinho added.
Finally, Mourinho was asked about his emotions ahead of returning to face Roma, the club he managed between 2021 and 2024.
The Portuguese coach offered a brief response, saying that he had his feelings about the occasion “blocked”.
