Vinicius Junior was Africa’s favorite for Ballon d’Or

Real Madrid and Brazil star Vinicius Junior was Africa’s favorite to win the Ballon d’Or, according to poll results for the 2024 event published by France Football.

Spanish midfielder Rodri was crowned the world’s best male footballer last month in a star-studded ceremony in Paris that was snubbed by Real Madrid.

Vinicius Junior came second.

But in Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Egypt, Senegal and others, voters chose the Real Madrid man. Only Gabon, Ghana and South Africa voted for Rodri.

Of the 22 African journalists who voted, 12 placed Vinicius at the top of their ranking.

The Ballon d’Or victor is decided by 100 journalists from FIFA’s 100 top-ranked member nations. Each journalist makes their top five picks from the 30-person shotlist.

France Football, a French footballing publication, is the main body behind the Ballon d’Or.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or ranking

1. Rodri (Spain, Manchester City)

2. Vinicius Jr. (Brazil, Real Madrid)

3. Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid)

4. Dani Carvajal (Spain, Real Madrid)

5. Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City)

6. Kylian Mbappé (France, Paris-SG)

7. Lautaro Martinez (Argentina, Inter Milan)

8. Lamine Yamal (Spain, FC Barcelona)

9. Toni Kroos (Germany, Real Madrid)

10. Harry Kane (England, Bayern Munich)

11. Phil Foden (England, Manchester City)

12. Florian Wirtz (Germany, Leverkusen)

13. Dani Olmo (Spain, RB Leipzig)

14. Ademola Lookman (Nigeria, Atalanta Bergamo)

15. Nico Williams (Spain, Athletic Bilbao)

16. Granit Xhaka (Switzerland, Leverkusen)

17. Federico Valverde (Uruguay, Real Madrid).

18. Emiliano Martinez (Argentina, Aston Villa)

19. Martin Ödegaard (Norway, Arsenal)

20. Hakan Çalhanoglu (Turkey, Inter Milan)

21. Bukayo Saka (England, Arsenal)

22. Antonio Rüdiger (Germany, Real Madrid)

23. Ruben Dias (Portugal, Manchester City)

24. William Saliba (France, Arsenal)

25. Cole Palmer (England, Manchester City, Chelsea)

26. Declan Rice (England, Arsenal)

27. Vitinha (Portugal, Paris-SG)

28. Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain, Leverkusen)

29. Artem Dovbik (Ukraine, SK-Dnipro 1, Girona)

30. Mats Hummels (Germany, Dortmund)