With Vinícius Junior having been crowned the 2024 FIFA Best Men's Player of the Year, it has officially been revealed that the Bafana Bafana coach did not pick the Brazilian as his first choice to win the award.
Following the drama at the 2024 Ballon d'Or Awards, where Vinícius missed out on the prestigious prize to Manchester City star Rodri, the Real Madrid player received some form of consolation on Tuesday evening.
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The 24-year-old was crowned the FIFA Best Men's Player of the Year in Qatar, seeing off competition from Rodri in second and his teammate Jude Bellingham in third place.
According to the official criteria by FIFA for the award, votes were cast by national team coaches and captains, media representatives, as well as fans.
As such, the Bafana Bafana coach and skipper's votes have since been revealed after FIFA released an official list on their website of how they voted.
Broos chose Rodri as his first pick, Vinícius as his second choice, while FC Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal was his third option.
Captain Ronwen Williams, on the other hand, also selected Rodri in first place and Vinícius in second, but he opted for Dani Carvajal in the number three spot.
Reacting to his victory on his Instagram, Vinícius wrote: "Today I write to that boy who saw so many idols lift this trophy... your time has come. Or better yet my time has come.
"[It's] time to say 'yes I am the best player in the world and I fought hard for it'. They tried and still try to invalidate me, to diminish me. But they are not ready.
"No one will tell me who I should fight for, how I should behave. When I was in São Gonçalo, the system didn't care for me. I was almost swallowed.
"I won for me, for my family. With a lot of support along the way: Flamengo, Real Madrid, Brazilian national team, my hundreds of teammates during those years...the people who accompany me daily to my routine who admire me...THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD."
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By Lukhanyo Mtuta
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