Granit Xhaka came 16th in the race for the Golden Ball 2024, was voted by two countries in the first three places, but did not receive a single point from Switzerland, causing a scandal in the Swiss state.
The Ballon d’Or awards caused a lot of excitement on October 28. The star of Manchester City, Rodri beat Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior in the competition. A choice that caused great anger among the royals, as for this reason they boycotted the ceremony in Paris.
Almost two weeks after the gala event, the secrets of the election have already been revealed. The figures published by the specialized magazine “France Football” show how close the race for victory really was. Rodri got 1170 points and beat Vinicius by only 41 points.
Jude Bellingham with 917 points is already well behind the duo in third place. It is worth noting that Rodri was not in the top ten by five journalists, while Vinicius only three times. But: the Spaniard finished in first place 49 times, the Brazilian 35 times.
Apart from these, Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Ademola Lookman and Lautaro Martinez were also selected once in the first place.
Xhaka was twice in the top 3, but was rejected by Switzerland
The Albanian star of Bayer Leverkusen was voted in the top three twice and entered the top ten a total of 14 times. He finished in 16th place with a total of 60 points.
Of all the countries, there were no points for the captain of the National Team from Switzerland. But the surprise comes precisely from the country he represents.
Daniel Visentini, who was allowed to vote as a jury for “Tribune de Geneve”, preferred to rely on Vini Jr, Rodri, Bellingham, Carvajal, Martinez, Foden, Haaland, Yamal, Mbappe and Kane, not voting for Xhaka at all.
This vote of Visentin has caused quite a stir and controversy among the Helvetii. /Telegraph/