According to The ChiringuitoMan City shared the video on Instagram on Tuesday, a day after Rodri received his first Ballon d’Or.
In the clip, Rodri was seen celebrating with friends and family, singing in Spanish: “Ay Vinicius, ay Vinicius, ay Vinicius, ciao, ciao, ciao,” which translates to “Oh Vinicius, oh Vinicius, oh Vinicius, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.”
The club later deleted the video and re-posted it without the singing part of Rodri. However, fans who have seen and recorded the original video quickly shared it on social media.
While some debated whether Rodri actually mentioned Vini, The Chiringuito and other outlets confirmed that the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner was indeed mocking the Brazilian player, who finished after him.
A screenshot of a video shared on Instagram of Rodri mocking Vinicius Jr. after winning the Ballon d’Or on Oct. 28, 2024. |
The Ballon d’Or is decided by a panel of journalists from FIFA’s top 100 nations. Each journalist selects 10 players from the list of 30 nominees, assigning them points from 15 down to 1. The player with the most total points wins the award.
Spanish journalist Bruno Porzio, who was part of the voting panel, revealed that he did not vote for Vinicius, citing the player’s behavior on the pitch. “Vinicius does not represent the spirit of sportsmanship and often provokes opponents,” Porzio said.
He ranked Jude Bellingham as his top choice and placed Rodri seventh, while Vinicius did not even make his top 10, RMC Sport reported.
Rodri’s comments during the celebration sparked controversy and created discontent among Real Madrid fans, who pointed to his past disciplinary issues. They mentioned Rodri’s altercation with Morgan Gibbs-White during Man City’s match against Nottingham Forest on Sept. 23, 2023, in which he got a red card for choking the opponent.
This is not the first time Rodri’s celebration have put him in trouble. During Spain’s Euro 2024 victory celebration, he and team captain Alvaro Morata sang “It’s Spain, Gibraltar is Spain,” which touched a territorial controversy and resulted in a one-match suspension by UEFA.
Rodri and Vinicius were both top contenders for the 2024 Ballon d’Or.
While Vinicius boasted a stellar performance in the Champions League last season which helped Real Madrid win the title, Rodri was the main man in Spain’s Euro 2024 victory. Up until the award ceremony, media and bookmakers were confident that Vinicius would take the Ballon d’Or home.
However, on the day of the event, reports surfaced that Real Madrid members would not attend the award ceremony, raising suspicions of a different outcome for the award. In the end, Rodri won the Ballon d’Or, while Vinicius had to settle for the Silver Ball.
The original video of Rodri saying words that aim toward Vinicius but was later deleted by Manchester City on Instagram.
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