Sergio Aguero has taken a swipe at Real Madrid, calling them 'entitled,' following the club's response to Vinicius Jr's omission from the Ballon d'Or award.
The Brazilian forward and his team were incensed by the decision to honor Manchester City and Spain's Rodri with the accolade, leading to a boycott of the Paris ceremony on Tuesday evening.
In a statement, Real Madrid claimed that the prize not going to either Rodri or Dani Carvajal demonstrated a lack of respect from UEFA towards the club. This was followed by a statement from Vinicius' camp on Wednesday, in which the 24-year-old suggested that his vocal stance against racism was the reason for his exclusion.
Aguero, who played alongside Rodri for two seasons at the Etihad, believes his former teammate deserved the award and criticized Madrid's reaction to the outcome.
'Well deserved. Rodri is the best player in the world.' He said on his streaming channel. 'Football is for everyone, not just Real Madrid – they are so entitled.'
Vinicius was a top contender for the 2024 Ballon d'Or after his significant contributions to Madrid's LaLiga-UEFA Champions League double.
He scored six goals and provided four assists in ten Champions League appearances and had 20 goal involvements in 26 La Liga matches.
He broke his silence shortly after an emotional Rodri received the award on Tuesday night, acknowledging his roles in Spain's Euro 2024 victory and his club's fourth consecutive Premier League title.
'I'll do it 10x if I have to. They're not ready,' he posted on X, implying future achievements.
Reuters later reported that this comment was related to his fight against racism in recent years. 'The football world is not ready to accept a player who fights against the system.' A member of the Brazilian forward's management staff is quoted by the outlet as saying.
Madrid's statement to AFP said: 'If the award criteria doesn't give it to Vinicius as the winner, those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner.
'As this was not the case, it is clear that
