The awards, organized by France Football, are based on votes by a panel of journalists from the top 100 Fifa-ranked nations.

Each journalist selects 10 players from a list of 30 nominees, ranking them in order from 10th to first.

Galvao Bueno, one of the biggest Brazilian sports commentators, published a video on his YouTube channel, with over a million followers, criticizing the selection methods.

“It’s not just a question of football, of who plays better, this award has a European focus,” he said.

Bueno added that Vinicius did not win because of his fight against racism, and that his story “causes discomfort”.

The commentators also strongly disagreed that winner Rodri had performed better than Vinicius this year.

“The fact that Vini Jr was not awarded the title of best player in the world at the Ballon d’Or is yet another way of trying to punish the Brazilian for his outspoken stance on racial issues, both on and off the pitch.” wrote Douglas Ceconello, a journalist for Globo Esporte, a sports website in Brazil.

After the Ballon d’Or results, Vinicius posted a message on X saying: “I’ll do it 10 times if I have to. They’re not ready.”

His post received over 100,000 comments, with many Brazilians showing their support.

Brazil’s Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, reacted to the message, saying: “You’re amazing, Vini! Racism will never stop us. Let’s keep making history.”