Vinicius Junior was prevented from winning the Ballon d'Or by his Real Madrid team-mates, according to the organiser of the ceremony. The Brazilian star boycotted the event along with the entire Madrid squad in protest against the decision to snub Vinicius.

The 24-year-old finished second in the running order behind Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who became the first Premier League player since Cristiano Ronaldo to win football's most prestigious individual prize.

Fans were left baffled by the winger's snub after he played a major part in Los Blancos' double triumph in the 2023-24 season, clinching La Liga with only one defeat and claiming their 14th European Cup by winning the Champions League.

But Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of French outlet France Football, was partly in charge of hosting the event. And he theorised that Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal were actually behind the Brazilian's defeat.

"Of course Vinicius suffered with the presence of Bellingham and Carvajal in the top five because, mathematically, that takes some points away from him," Garcia told Marca.

"This also sums up Real Madrid's season, which took three or four players and the jury divided the decision between them. Rodri benefited from that."

Vinicius Junior scored 24 goals and registered 11 assists in his best season to date since moving to Spain in 2018. But he fell short in trying to claim the elusive prize, with Rodri earning more votes than the Brazil international.

The forward made his feelings perfectly clear after turning down the chance to attend the ceremony, with his Madrid team-mates following suit.

In a social media post, he wrote in his native Portuguese: "I'll do it 10x if I have to," he wrote on X. "They're not ready."

While the post made no reference to the Ballon d'Or, it was published just minutes after Rodri was announced as the winner. Bellingham finished third behind Vinicius in the running, with Carvajal fourth and Erling Haaland fifth.

Garcia also claimed that Madrid officials had allegedly attempted to convince him to reveal the results early. Leaked reports that emerged hours beforere the ceremony suggesting Vinicius had won, only for them to prove to be inaccurate.

"There was a lot of pressure from Real Madrid, but as with other clubs, I have always been very clear and fair and perhaps my silence pushed them to the limit," Garcia added.

"But I was unpleasantly surprised by Real's absence. We were very clear with them and with all the clubs. This year, the winners were not going to be notified. I thought everyone had accepted that."