Vinicius and Bellingham, so close and so far from the Ballon d’Or

Vinicius Junior announced his candidacy for the Ballon d’Or with a tremendous performance against Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals. The hero was Joselu, author of the double, but the one chosen as MVP was the Brazilian winger.

This European Cup will not be remembered by Haaland or Kylian Mbapé, who were dismissed and barely left a mark in the qualifiers against Madrid and Dortmund, respectively. It wasn’t the Champions League in Bellingham either, a hindrance more than a help against Bayern, where he once again showed he’s light years away from his best version.

While waiting to see what the grand final of the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley will dictate, Vinicius declared to the four winds his candidacy for the Ballon d’Or At the moment, the football world cannot think of a more destabilizing footballer to with talent and determination. He repeatedly hit Kimmich and the Bavarian rearguard no matter who was in front of him.

He only needed the goal that Neuer denied him and the stick to crown one of his best displays in a Madrid shirt, if not the best.

“It is a pride to defend this team and this shirt in this field. This is Real Madrid, we never give up, our fans drive us and we are always at home as much as we can,” he said.

“We feel close to our families and we make a difference. We always want to win and if I have to go down to defend to help, I will do it to enter another final, as we do in every game,” he added in Movistar+.

Vinícius thanked the Real Madrid fans for their love, excited for the moment. “I’m lucky to be able to play every game with this shirt. It’s a dream to play for Real Madrid. I left a place in Brazil, on the other side of the world, where people usually don’t leave there and I I’m able to make a great story with this team, with my family nearby and a fan who loves me so much and I give everything for them.”