Cléber has been the Brazilian representative for over ten years

Brazilian representative in the election of France Football magazine, narrator Cléber Machado revealed his votes for the best player in the world in the Ballon d’Or. Unlike the final result, he chose Vinícius Júnior, from Real Madrid, to lead his Top 10, instead of Rodri, voted the best in the world.

“I voted for Vini Jr., Rodri and Bellingham (in that order). Then I voted for Mbappé, in fourth, and Kane, in fifth”, said the journalist, during the Arena SBT program. In addition to these, he selected Toni Kroos, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Dani Carvajal and Florian Wirtz to make up the Top 10. Cléber has been the Brazilian representative in the Ballon d’Or election for more than ten years.

Officially, France Football has not yet revealed the votes of each of the journalists and the score each player obtained in the election – this should be done over the next few days. This Monday, only the position of the athletes was released, with Rodri, from Manchester City, in first, followed by Vini Jr. and Jude Bellingham, from Real Madrid, in second and third, respectively.

Unlike other years, the Ballon d’Or result was not officially announced to the athletes before the ceremony. However, Vini Jr. and Real Madrid learned that the Brazilian would not win the award and boycotted the award. The Brazilian striker was considered a favorite by the Spanish press last month, but remained in Spain, along with the delegation of 50 people who planned the Merengue club.

Since 2007, with Kaká, Brazil has not had a player voted best in the world, in an award organized by France Football. Vini Jr. was approached by Saudi Arabian football at the beginning of this season, but the possibility of winning the Ballon d’Or was one of the reasons that made him stay at Real Madrid, at least until 2025. Since the award was created, all The winners of the men’s Ballon d’Or were playing in Europe at the time of the ceremony, except for Lionel Messi, who received the trophy when he was already playing for Inter Miami.

For the Ballon d’Or, France Football selects 100 journalists, one from each country in the Top 100 of the FIFA rankings. The magazine then sends a list of 30 finalists for the best in the world. Each professional creates their ideal Top 10, while the best placed – after adding up the scores for each position – is awarded the Ballon d’Or.

The list of finalists is formed by the editors of France Football and Luís Figo, UEFA ambassador for the men’s trophy. This is because, for the first time this year, the awards were organized in partnership with the European entity. Journalists from each country then create their Top 10, with each position receiving a certain score: 15 points, 12, 10, eight, seven, five, four, three, two and one point.

With the votes of Cléber Machado, Vini Jr. scored 15 points, but Rodri, as he was in second place in the Brazilian’s evaluation, also had a good score: 12 points, which helped him get a higher sum than the striker. of Real Madrid at the end of the election.

France Football’s evaluation period considers the 2023/2024 season in the analysis to elect the best player in the world. On that occasion, Vini scored 24 goals and provided nine assists with the Real Madrid shirt, and was crucial in winning the Champions League and the Spanish Championship.

In addition, three other aspects must be considered by journalists: “individual performances, decisive and impressive character”, “team performance and achievements” and “class and Fair Play”.