The Ballon d’Or is voted for by 100 journalists from the 100 countries with the best FIFA ranking. In Spain, the person in charge of doing so is Alfredo Relaño, legendary director of the newspaper AS for 23 years, and previously sports director at the beginning of Canal+: «I had doubts, but I voted first for Vini. By feet it seemed like the best to me. Then I put Rodri, Bellingham, Kroos and Carvajal», explains Alfredo to ABC.
Of the three criteria for voting, Relaño understands that the last one, that of good behavior and fair playhas played against him, in addition to not having had a relevant role in the Copa América: «In fact, he did not play in the quarter-final tie due to accumulation of warnings. I believe that if there had not been a Copa América I would have won it, but that was not the case. And, furthermore, Vini is a rowdy footballer on the field and that works against him.
Alfredo does not share Madrid’s theory that there has been pressure in the votes so that Vinicius He will not win the Ballon d’Or. He has been doing it for eight years and always with freedom: «No one has ever told me who I should vote for. UEFA only participates on a commercial level in the Ballon d’Or, not in the voting. In this fight between Madrid and UEFA, I think UEFA is wearing down more than Madrid.
The former director of AS and Canal+ does not understand the club’s sit-in: «Rodri does not have the fantasy of the players who win the Ballon d’Or. He is effective, but not impressive, but that does not mean that it is unfair. A very great expectation was created, which Madrid induces in its media environment. Furthermore, there is pressure from Madrid towards the editor-in-chief of France Football to confirm that Vini won, and since he did not give in to those pressures, Madrid assumes that he does not win and gets angry. For me it’s a tantrum. Madrid has done an ugly thing. He has turned his back on a celebration of Spanish football and, on top of that, he has given the spotlight to Barça, which was happy there with women’s football and Lamine. “It is an act of arrogance, a tantrum from Florentino.”
A reflection that also extrapolates to the Brazilian footballer. The value it gives to Vinicius A footballer is not the same if we try to judge him by the way he acts: «Vinicius is admirable for the way he plays, but not for the way he thinks. By pointing out those two or three racists at Mestalla, he exposed us all to racism. Until then we would not be racist, but we tolerated it. That is appreciated. Now I don’t know if he has the brains to be a Tony Smith. No one can think that they have been penalized for their fight against racism. And if you think about it or are made to think about it, you are making a mistake.
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