Vinicius Jr 'unhappy' at having to prove himself again as he suffers huge drop in Ballon d'Or rank

Vinicius Jr looked set to become the first Brazilian Ballon d'Or winner in 17 years ahead of last year's grand ceremony.

But Manchester City midfield star Rodri took the crown, and less than 12 months later, Vinicius faces a rather difficult spell at Real Madrid , as he watched from home as Ousmane Dembele scooped the top prize .

A Ballon d'Or boycott from the Spanish side suggested they were certain he would win before learning that, in actual fact, he didn't.

After all, Vinicius hit 24 goals and 11 assists in the 2023/24 season that delivered LaLiga, Champions League and Supercopa de España titles.

The 25-year-old was an ever-present feature of the Madrid starting XI when Carlo Ancelotti commanded on the Bernabeu touchline.

However, throughout the opening six matches of the u