The Best FIFA Awards
The reason Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t vote as Portugal captain in The Best FIFA Awards 2024
Vinícius Júnior pipped Rodri to The Best Men’s Player prize but Ronaldo was nowhere to be found in the results or voting.
On Tuesday, December 17, The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 took place, with Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior voted ‘The Best’ male player in the world, taking the crown from Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, who had won the prize for the previous two years.
Vinícius now appears to have been confirmed as Madrid’s standout star, although there were a number of surprising votes cast by national team captains, coaches, and a selected media representative from each country.
The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2024 results
- Vinicius Junior: 48 points.
- Rodri: 43 points.
- Jude Bellingham: 37 points.
- Dani Carvajal: 31 points.
- Lamine Yamal: 30 points.
- Lionel Messi: 25 points.
- Toni Kroos: 18 points.
- Erling Haaland: 18 points.
- Kylian Mbappé: 14 points.
- Florian Wirtz: 8 points.
Cristiano Ronaldo absent from results and voting
The Best FIFA Men’s Player prize for 2024 saw Vinícius come out on top ahead of Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who had beaten the Brazilian to this year’s Ballon d’Or.
Despite no longer competing at the very highest level, Messi still secured sixth spot, ranking above notable players like Toni Kroos, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappé.
One of the most notable absentees, however, was Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite being 39 years old, the Portuguese star continues to score prolifically for Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and Portugal, ending the year with 916 career goals.
Why didn’t Cristiano Ronaldo vote in The Best Awards 2024?
The official list of votes cast by each captain was released, but Ronaldo did not appear as the captain of Portugal. Instead, City’s Bernardo Silva, who voted for Rodri, Vinícius, and Haaland, made the selections.
Although Ronaldo typically wears the armband when playing for his country, he was not listed as the official captain in the voting records. Instead, Bernardo was responsible for choosing his top three favorites for the award, with Portugal presumably looking to the future as Cristiano’s career comes towards its end.
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