Vinicius, who moved to Real from Flamengo in 2018, added: “They have tried and continue to try to cancel me, to belittle me. But they can’t do it.”

“No one will tell me who I can fight for or how I should behave. When I was in (hometown) Sao Goncalo, the system didn’t work for me. I was almost swallowed.”

“I won for myself, for my family. With a lot of support along the way: Flamengo, Real Madrid, the Brazilian national team, hundreds of my teammates over these years… the people who share my everyday life with me, who admire me. “I… the best player in the world.”

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti and striker Kylian Mbappe both won individual awards at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, but neither was present to receive their award.

After Rodri was crowned the men’s winner, Vinicius posted on X: “They’re not ready yet.”

The Ballon d’Or and Fifa Best Awards are the two most prestigious in football and Vinicius was in attendance to collect his first Fifa award in Doha.

The award – for football from August 2023 to August 2024 – was decided by a mix of public voting, a journalist from each country and the captain and manager of each national team. The votes from each group counted for 25%.

Real Madrid was already in Qatar on Wednesday to play the Fifa Intercontinental Cup final against Mexican club Pachuca at the Lusail Stadium.