Revealed: Official Ballon d’Or voting shows Rodri’s margin of victory over Vinicius Jr in last month’s controversial race

Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and runner-up Vinicius Jr were separated by just 41 points, according to a report. 

The Manchester City midfielder took home prestigious prize last month during a Paris ceremony that was notable for the absence of the Brazilian as well as other members of the Real Madrid contingent originally due to attend the event. 

After learning of his snub, the Spanish giants reacted angrily, declined to allow their representatives attend the ceremony and released a statement claiming that the result showed that ‘Ballon d’Or-UEFA does not respect’ the club. 

Details on the voting process have now been revealed by Fabrizio Romano, who has claimed that Rodri won a total of 1170 points compared to the Madrid winger with 1129.

This margin of victory would represent the closest race in recent years, though it is still some way more than the seven points Lionel Messi earned over Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk in 2019. 

Vinicius Jr did not attempt the ceremony in Paris after Real Madrid decided not to send their representatives to the event after learning of Rodri’s win

Since 2022, the current system is based on voting by a large panel of international journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked countries, and top 50 for the Ballon d’Or Feminin. Only a single journalist from each country in these rankings is given a vote.

It’s a five-vote system, meaning each journalist has to make five picks from a shortlist with each vote assigned a different points value.

The first-place position is awarded six points, with four for the second, three for the third, two for fourth and one point to their fifth-placed entry.

The player with the most cumulative points wins the Ballon d’Or.

There is a list of assessment criteria the journalists who are voting must consider, including how successful the team they were playing for was that season, players’ individual behaviour and contribution, and elements of fair play.

The key assessment window to consider is based on the European season, between August to July, having switched from a calendar-based period of January to December, in 2022.

Their rationale isn’t shared, however, and voting is purely subjective. Journalists get to pick from a shortlist of 23 players from around the world. Originally, it was an award restricted to European players from European clubs, then any player playing for a European club, and since 2007, any player globally.

In that period, the voting panel was expanded to include coaches and captains of national teams, but reverted back to just being journalists in 2016.

Lionel Messi claimed his sixth Ballon d’Or in 2019, winning the award after receiving six seven more votes than Virgil van Dijk

Between 2010 and 2015 FIFA and France Football reached an agreement to merge forces, and name it the FIFA Ballon d’Or.

That partnership ended in 2016, however, with the Ballon d’Or reverting back to its singular name, while FIFA has its own – The Best FIFA Men’s Player. 

In 2023, Messi enjoyed a 105-point victory over Erling Haaland, while Karim Benzema earned 356 more points than Sadio Mane in 2022.