“Minimum top 5 in the world,” Neymar Jr. expresses disappointment as Real Madrid star Rodrygo fails to make it to 2024 Ballon d’Or shortlist

Brazilian star Neymar Jr. expressed disappointment over fellow Brazilian forward Rodrygo's snubbing from 2024 Ballon d'Or nominees list.

“Minimum top 5 in the world,” Neymar Jr. expresses disappointment as Real Madrid star Rodrygo fails to make it to 2024 Ballon d’Or shortlist

Neymar Jr. expressed disappointment on Rodrygo's omission from Ballon d"or list. (via X)

Brazilian star Neymar Jr. expressed disappointment and questioned the credibility of the Ballon d’Or, after fellow Brazilian forward Rodrygo’s omission from the award’s 30-man shortlist. The 23-year-old, despite a brilliant season, failed to make it to the 2024 list.

The 30-man nominees list for the 2024 Ballon d’Or award were recently announced. Real Madrid had the highest number of players, with five of them finding their names on the list. Toni Kroos, Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr. and Dani Carvajal found their names on the list. However, club forward Rodrygo remained a notable omission, raising eyebrows, despite an impressive return of 17 goals and nine assists last season. He also won the La Liga and UCL with Real Madrid. 

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Among the ones surprised, Brazilian star Neymar Jr. took to social media to show support for his countryman. The 32-year-old shared a picture of the young forward on Instagram, accompanied with a message that tagged Rodrygo to undoubtedly be one of the top five players in the world right now, questioning his snub. The Los Blancos star, himself shared a collage of his achievements last season, pointing out to the significant contributions, as well as showing anguish over his exclusion.

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Meanwhile, in another surprising instance, the 2024 Ballon d’Or list became the first one, over the last two decades, to not feature the names of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. The two legends, who share 13 Ballon d’Or awards between them, have dominated the list since 2007. 

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Real Madrid starlet Rodrygo shares provocative message after Champions League draw

Los Blancos star Rodrygo shared a provocative social media message, following the UEFA Champions League draw in Monaco. The Brazilian posted a message, ‘Here we go… 16°’, indicating that Real Madrid will be on its way to claim its 16th UCL title. 

Rodrygo on UCL draw
Real Madrid star Rodrygo shared a provocative message on UCL draw. (via X)

Rival fans, however, found the controversial social media message to be provocative, and claimed that it undermined the other teams in the competition. Two fixtures will be a rematch of previous UCL finals where the club had triumphed, against Liverpool and Dortmund. Apart from them, they will face Ac Milan, Salzburg, Lille, Stuttgart and Brest in the new UCL league stage format. 

The new Champions League ‘league’ format is all set to kick-off in the latter half of September, with each team facing an opponent just once. All teams would be hoping to make it through to the final, in May 2025 in Munich.

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