‘This is for kids who think everything is impossible’

Vinicius Jr recalls his barefoot street football days as a child in Brazil after winning FIFA’s best player award; Spain’s Aitana Bonmati bags women’s honour

Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior finally got his hands on a big global player award on Tuesday.

Vinicius was named the men’s player of the year at FIFA’s The Best awards, where Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati won the women’s prize.

From sadness to joy

Vinicius, 24, was so disappointed to lose out to Manchester City midfielder Rodri for the Ballon d’Or in October that he and his Madrid team snubbed the ceremony in Paris in protest. This time Rodri ended up second to Vinicius by five points. The Brazil forward was at the FIFA ceremony to collect his award having travelled to Doha on Monday with Madrid for the Intercontinental Cup final against Pachuca.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” Vinícius said in Portuguese. 

Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati

“It was so far away that it seemed impossible to get here. I was a kid, who only played football barefoot on the streets of Sao Gonçalo, close to poverty and crime. Getting here is something very important to me. I’m doing it for many children who think that everything is impossible and who think they can’t get here,” added Vinícius, echoing these sentiments in an Instagram post, where he took a veiled dig at presumably the Ballon d’Or voters — journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.

“Today I am writing to that boy who saw so many idols lift this trophy. Your time has come. Or rather, my time has come. The time to say ... yes, I am the best player in the world and I fought hard for it. They tried and still try to invalidate me, diminish me. But they are not prepared. No one is going to tell me who I should fight for, how to behave,” wrote Vinicius, who has been subjected to racist abuse in Spain.

FIFA stresses on fairness  

FIFA said the award winners were decided by an “equally weighted voting system” by fans, the current captains and coaches of all national teams, and media representatives. There was an 11-player shortlist for both awards, with the contenders selected based on performances from August 21 last year to August 10, 2024.

Vinicius had the best season of his career, scoring 24 goals in 39 appearances for Madrid and helping the Spanish team to a record-extending 15th European Cup — and  his second Champions League trophy. He also netted in the final, becoming the youngest player to score in two Champions League finals.

Spain’s Bonmati, 26, has won the Ballon d’Or for two straight years. She won the Spanish League, Cup  and Champions League with Barcelona in 2024. “I’m grateful to all who helped me, from the club to my teammates,” she said.

Other Winners

. Best goalkeeper (women): Alyssa Naeher 
. Best goalkeeper (men): Emiliano Martínez 
. Best coach (women): Emma Hayes 
. Best coach (men): Carlo Ancelotti 
. Marta Award (best women’s goal): Marta 
. The Puskas Award (best men’s goal):  Alejandro Garnacho

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