Bellingham had a better first half of the season but then faded . Vini ended up being decisive with assists , goals and performances in the decisive stages of the CL . I think that put him over the top over Bellingham. Yes the whole Madrid not showing up is pretty pathetic . Specially when they had awards to pick up .
True, for sure. Bellingham has been just OK or all of 2025 actually. Though he did have a huge goal in the Euro, he didn't play much better overall for England than Vinny for Brazil. Voters always have their biases though. Some seem unnatural and possibly racist like the one you referred to, but others are naturally created from watching more La Liga than EPL or vice versa. And those biased towards EPL are going to be less divided on who to vote for.
Vinicius's season is just about two UCL Semi final games vs Bayern and the final vs Dortmund. That's it. He was not really instrumental for LBP in Liga. And he was absolute terrible in Copa America. Since most only care about UCL KO games, that's why he had strong case to win. Bellingham actually had better season overall (club + NT).
He also had a goal in R16 and 3 assists against City. He was really instrumental in every knock out round of the CL. I didn't follow their La Liga games but from what I remember Bellingham started off hot and then faded in the 2nd half of the season. Vinicius ended up playing 26 games only. IIRC had some injury 1st half of the season. Business end of the season typically will count more. I remember Kaka winning the Balon over Messi and Ronaldo because he had clutch games in the CL KO but his league campaign was meh and Milan didn't win the Scudetto. So this wouldn't be out of the ordinary. As for NT ... yeah Vini sucked. But I seldom see CA be of any consequence for this award. So a bit strange to consider if one has a bad performance but ignore if they win it. Only exception might have been when Messi won it and that probably helped him get the nod. Bellingham's Euro was pretty bad IIRC. He had bicycle-ish kick winning goal but everybody was saying he looked spent. So I personally wouldn't consider that much. I don't watch EPL so I can't comment much on Rodri's performances. Scoring 12 (w/out PKs) and giving 14 assists is definitely impressive for a DM. He got Euro player of the tournament. I liked his performances, but many thought he wasn't the best player in the squad. Perhaps you can comment on that. I think it doesn't help Vinicius that while he is an attacking player and attackers are heavily favored in these awards, he is coming after Messi / Ronaldo and Benzema / Lewy type of numbers. So 24 goals and 13 assists in a season isn't going to be that impressive. I am not one of those that celebrates a Brazilian winning individual awards because I am Brazilian BTW. I am really more interested in teams I support winning titles. Just commenting for the sake of commenting.
Vinicius was instrumental during KO rounds for LBP, no doubt (Correct: He had 2 assists vs City, not 3 and wasn't particularly great in that tie). He had stronger UCL than Bellingham but Bellingham was better in Laliga. And he also was better for England in Euro than Vinicius for Brazil in Copa. As for Rodri, he was important for both City and Spain. You can argue that he is not really the best player in Euro though. But winning EPL and Euro as one of its best players is a key. It makes journalists go for him. I think both Vinicius and Rodri had similiar chance to win. So either could win and you can say he deserved. Rodri is the winner. I say it's fair. Vini could've won like Kaka in 2007 and it's fair too. But the way Vinicius and his surrounding act like they are brutally murdered is just hilarious.
Another thing is while Rodri and Vinicius had equal chance, but Madrid's media spent months running campaign for Vinicius, it made people believe and think that Vinicius already won.
I counted the goal where Rodrygo first hits it off Ederson at first and then scores off the rebound. That's how I got 3 assists. Yes it's a shame that Madrid doesn't show up when a Spanish player finally wins the trophy.
I'm just enjoying the meltdown by that fanbase, and the impending meltdown by Vini himself. "I just want to play football," followed by incessant whining and crying on the pitch. (While I respect his fight against racism in the game, I also disrespect how much he bitches on the pitch.)
I am conflicted on this. For Madrid I do hope he goes all out ego and becomes selfish undermining the collective. But for Brazil, I need him to be smarter since I don't see him getting dropped. Then again, he can't do much worse than he has up to this point for the NT.
Some Copa del Rey matches postponed tonight after the storms that ripped through the Valencia and Albacete regions of Spain. Including Valencia CF's match, even though they were due to play in Madrid. Makes me wonder if the Valencia v Real Madrid match will happen on Saturday.
And I get that. Were he not an LPB turd, it would be disappointing to see a great player lose his sh!t so easily. And it is sad to see a great side like Brasil become less than the sum of their parts, and less than their history. (I LOVE watching great football, from a great side like Brasil.) Now, the best decision, IMO, would have been for a hyper-privileged side like madrid to show up, and then b!tch thereafter. He might have actually gotten some empathy from enemy clubs and their supporters, had they been bigger boys about not winning the BDO. TL;DR: I'm also sad for Brasil about Vini, I'm happy as fvkc about LPB making themselves look stoopid.
Everytime I see him play he's fighting with opponents, the ref, the fans, and sometimes even his own teammates. Toxic character
I always see the refs let him bitch and shout at them, even though he's supposed to get carded for that, and only the team captain is supposed to speak to them. LPB are always quick to complain about the refs, but then they get away with as much, if not more antics than other sides.
Indeed, it was confirmed today that Valencia x LPB is postponed. Chance for Barca to go 9 points clear.
Did you see the pass and reaction from Tchouameni and then also Vini's body language ? Just incredibly lazy and lackadaisical. These guys are very used to turning it on when they want to and getting results.