Vinícius Júnior, a player from Real Madrid, finally won a big award on Tuesday as he was named the Best Men’s Player at FIFA’s “The Best” ceremony. This came after he missed out on the Ballon d’Or award in October to Rodri from Manchester City. Vinícius and his teammates didn’t attend the Ballon d’Or award show in Paris as a form of protest.
At the same event, Aitana Bonmati from Barcelona won the award for Best Women’s Player. Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United won the Puskas Award for his amazing overhead goal against Everton in the Premier League.
Unlike the Ballon d’Or, Vinícius beat Rodri by just five points to take home the award. Vinícius was there in Doha because his team was playing in the Intercontinental Cup final against Pachuca. He shared his journey, saying, “I don’t even know where to begin. It was so far away that it seemed impossible to get here. I was a kid who only played football barefoot on the streets near poverty and crime. Getting here is very important to me. I’m doing it for other kids who think everything is impossible.”
Real Madrid also won another award as Carlo Ancelotti was named the Best Men’s Coach. He led the team to victory in La Liga and the Champions League last season.
Here’s the complete list of winners from FIFA’s “The Best” awards for 2024:
– Best Men’s Player: Vinícius Júnior
– Best Women’s Player: Aitana Bonmati
– Best Men’s Coach: Carlo Ancelotti
– Best Women’s Coach: Emma Hayes
– Best Men’s Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez
– Best Women’s Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher
– Puskas Award: Alejandro Garnacho
– Marta Award: Marta
– FIFA Fair Play Award: Thiago Maia
– FIFA Fan Award: Guilherme Gandra Moura
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