Former Real Madrid star claims he was ‘robbed’ of Ballon d’Or 14 YEARS AGO as new row erupts in the wake of Vinicius Jr saga after Rodri won the top prize

It wouldn’t be Ballon d’Or season without a few miffed losers but to still be salty 14 years on might be pushing it.

The prestigious prize is held yearly in Paris and sees 100 journalists choose the world’s finest footballer, based on individual performances, team performances and achievements, class and fair play.

This year it was Real Madrid‘s Vinicius Junior who threw his toys out of the proverbial pram and you can understand why. 

In losing to Manchester City and Spain’s Rodri, the Champions League-winning forward became the first runner-up to a defensive player since Thierry Henry lost out to Fabio Cannavaro in 2006.

Normally time heals the anger but one former Real Madrid star is still salty after he fell victim to the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era of dominance and was snubbed in favour of the Argentinian 14 years ago. 

The midfielder then proved a key component of a gifted Dutch side which came agonisingly close to winning the World Cup

The decision still plays on the mind of the man himself, with the 40-year-old revealing in an interview that he feels he was ‘robbed’

Lionel Messi went on to win the famous honour for the second time after scoring a mesmerising 60 goals for club and country

Wesley Sneijder had a wonderful year in 2010 for club and country, his skilled dribbling and rifled long-shots making him one of the best in the world to watch.

He lifted the Champions League trophy with a plucky Inter Milan side led by Jose Mourinho, with the Italian outfit beating Bayern Munich in the final thanks to a brace from Diego Milito.

The midfielder then proved a key component of a gifted Dutch side which came agonisingly close to winning the World Cup, only losing out to Spain in extra-time.

But his all-round success in 2010 was not enough for him to scoop up football’s most coveted individual prize. In fact, Sneijder did not even make the top three, with the selection panel favouring the Barcelona trio of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta instead.

Fans of the mercurial no10 still rage about the rejection and it turns out the decision still plays on the mind of the man himself, with the 40-year-old revealing in an interview that he feels he was ‘robbed’.

Sneijder added that the infamous snubbing was not such a bad thing as his legacy lives on through the outrage.

‘To be honest, I’m more happy by the fact that now in 2024, 14 years later, people are still talking about it and they’re telling me like “Wes, you got robbed in 2010”,’ he said.

‘Imagine I won it and people now are saying, “yeah but he robbed it”.

‘Individual prizes are nice but team prizes, raising the cup, the Champions League, are for me more valuable than winning the Golden Ball.’

Meanwhile, Iniesta came second thanks to his winning strike in the World Cup final

Xavi took third for another year of consistently impressive performances in midfield

This year Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior threw his toys out of the proverbial pram and you can understand why

The Champions League-winning forward lost out to Manchester City and Spain’s Rodri

Messi went on to win the famous honour for the second time after scoring a mesmerising 60 goals for club and country.

Meanwhile, Iniesta came second thanks to his winning strike in the World Cup final as Xavi took third for another year of consistently impressive performances in midfield.

The year was the second in a run of Messi and Ronaldo wins which went unbroken until Luka Modric swooped the trophy in 2018.