Toni Kroos slams Ballon d'Or award and says it has 'no place' in football as former Real Madrid team-mate Vinicius Jr snubs ceremony

Vinicius has skipped the Ballon d'Or ceremony, with Rodri poised to win the award after his superb season for both Manchester City and Spain. Vinicius scored 24 goals and registered 11 assists for Los Blancos as Real won La Liga and the Champions League, as well as the Supercopa de Espana, but clearly did not do enough to win the biggest individual prize in the sport. Rodri won the Premier League with City and Euro 2024 with Spain.

Kroos maintains that the prize is redundant in a team sport, although that may be a view informed by the fact his team-mate has tasted disappointment. His old midfield partner, Luka Modric, was the last midfielder to win the Ballon d'Or. Kroos finished ninth in this year's voting.

Kroos said: “Rodri will win the Ballon d’Or. I’ve never seen the importance of these individual awards in football, they have no place”.

Real Madrid play Valencia on November 2, before taking on AC Milan in the Champions League. Vinicius will be out to prove the awards panel wrong.