Just a few hours before the start of this year's Ballon d'Or gala at the Theater du Chatelet in Paris, it seemed that Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid would win the main prize. But then leaks appeared, which were confirmed during the gala – the Ballon d'Or was awarded to Rodri, a Manchester City player. Real Madrid decided not to send any delegation to the gala – and originally about 50 people were supposed to attend – because it believed that UEFA was responsible for not awarding the Ballon d'Or to Vinicius.
“The decision of Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, meant the decision of everyone at the same time. From a large expedition to a complete absence,” wrote relevo.com. “I will do 10 times more if necessary,” added Vinicius on social media, reacting to the results of the gala. “If they say something like that, it says everything about them,” commented UEFA in response to reports regarding the Real Madrid authorities' premonition regarding the Ballon d'Or.
Now Vinicius is in the news again, but this time because of his performance in the Brazilian national team.
“Vinicius's perfect hat-trick.” Embarrassment of the Brazilian
Brazil competed away against Venezuela in the eleventh round of the World Cup qualifiers. After the first half, they were leading 1-0 after Raphinha's goal from a free kick, so they were on track to win the third match in a row. Just after the break, Venezuela equalized thanks to Telasco Segovia, who scored from outside the Brazilian penalty area. In the 62nd minute, Brazil could have been leading 2-1 when the referee awarded a penalty kick to the guests.
Vinicius approached the penalty spot. The first time he shot low, so Rafael Romo easily hit the ball in front of him. Vinicius had a great opportunity to recover on the rebound, but he completely missed the ball. “I have the impression that the fans are more happy about this than after scoring a goal at 1-1,” said Eleven Sports commentators.
It was the perfect moment for Internet users to mock Vinicius, especially those who have antipathy towards the Real Madrid player. “Vinicius's perfect hat-trick: provoking the opponent, feigning aggression, missing a penalty kick. Dance, Vini, dance,” wrote one of the users of portal X. “Shame on Brazil,” adds the Internet user.
After a 1-1 draw with Venezuela, Brazil is in third place with 17 points, five behind leaders Argentina, which sensationally lost 1-2 to Paraguay. Brazil could be overtaken by Uruguay if they beat Colombia this round. It is worth adding that Ecuador would still be higher than Brazil, but this team was deducted three points for falsifying the documentation of one of the players.