FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - 2023 Ballon d'Or - Chatelet Theatre, Paris, France - October 30, 2023 General view of the Ballon d'Or REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo
MADRID (Reuters) - Real Madrid have cancelled their delegation's plans to attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris on Monday at the last minute as the club understand that their Brazil forward Vinicius Jr will not win the award, soccer sources told Reuters.
Bookmakers had 24-year-old Vinicius Jr, the Champions League player of the year, as the heavy odds-on favourite to claim his first Ballon d'Or, which is presented to the best player in the world, ahead of Manchester City's Spain midfielder Rodri, 28, and Real's England international Jude Bellingham.
Vinicius Jr helped Real to a Champions League-LaLiga double last term along with 21-year-old Bellingham, who was named LaLiga MVP after scoring a career best 19 goals in a sparkling debut campaign and helping England reach the Euro 2024 final.
Rodri, who City manager Pep Guardiola has called "the best midfielder in the world", was instrumental in helping his team win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League trophy last season and was named best player at this year's European Championship after Spain lifted a record-extending fourth title.
Real and France Football, which organises the Ballon d'Or awards, were not immediately available to comment.
The awards are based on voting by a panel of journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked countries.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Ken Ferris)
