Vinicius Junior revealed that he was fired by the banner who spotted his balloon d'Or 'defeat' by Manchester City supporters after playing a leading role in Real Madrid's dramatic Champions League victory in the Etihad Stadium.
The visiting side was greeted by a huge flag prior to the play-off first stage of Tuesday, which spent the second place of the Brazilian on the midfielder Rodri last year in the balloon d'Or voices and the subsequent boycott of Real's ceremony.
The banner showed a huge photo of Rodri who kissed his trophy next to the message 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' – a title of the number of the city – supporting band Oasis. After seeing the banner, Rodri was sitting in the stands because of his long -term knee injury – immediately picked up his phone to catch the visual display.
Yet it was real and their no. 7 who had the last smile when the banner failed badly, in which Vinicius played a major role in both goals that came down Carlo Ancelotti's side of 2-1 with five minutes left – for a 3 to steal -2 lead in the first legs.
After the game, Vinicius said to Movistar: “I saw it, I saw the banner. When the opposite fans do such things, they give me more power to have a great game and I did it here.”
City manager Pep Guardiola claimed that he had not seen the banner, who criticized Sky Sports Pundit Jamie Carragher.
“It is absolutely ridiculous,” Carragher told CBS Sports about the banner.
“Why would you do it? What do you win, even if it is the fans? Why annoy people, why would you excite someone? Do it at the end of the game, if you hit them out.
'Don't start with the celebration police. I don't know what you win – it's not funny tonight, right?
“If I came out and Steven Gerrard had won the Ballon d'Or, and he had defeated a Real Madrid player, that would annoy me as a Liverpool player.
“It's like a Jinx. I don't like things like that. Why some of the best players in the world end up? I know that Madrid is doing like babies who don't go there, but behave like the right club.
“Everyone laughed not to go, whether it's Vinicius Junior or Carlo Ancelotti who doesn't pick up the manager of the year.
“That was embarrassing for a club like them, just because they didn't win it for one season. Man City does not have to participate, to have a little lesson.”
City must now destroy a shortage of one goals when they travel to Madrid to be really confronted in the return on Wednesday 19 February.
What happened during the ceremony of Ballon d'Or?
Rodri and Vinicius were the two leading contenders for Messrs Ballon d'Or prize, awarded in October. The midfielder of the city had won the Premier League and the European Championships with Spain, while Vinicius won the LaLiga and Champions League titles.
But when news was leaked before the ceremony that Rodri had been awarded the prize, Vinicius and the entire Real Madrid Contingent chose the event not to be present at the last minute.
Real Madrid President Florentino Perez defended the decision. “They changed the voting system,” he said in November.
“It is surprising that, given football, there are countries in which journalists with fewer than a million inhabitants now have a voice. There are journalists who don't know anyone and they have arrived to vote this year. Without the voices of journalists from these countries Such as these countries Uganda, Namibia, Albania and Finland, Vinicius would have won this balloon d'Or.
“The system must change and they must be recognized people who risk their prestige with these voices. For all these reasons we did not go to the Ballon d'Or Gala.”
Asked to respond to Real Madrid's actions, Rodri said: “Well, it is a decision of individuals or clubs in general to decide what to do.
“I can't respect the decision, I always said I wouldn't do it in the same way. I remember last year that there might be erling [Haaland] Was almost winning it, I wanted to be there with him to support the entire club.
“And although Leo [Messi] Won it, we were hit him there because Ballon d'Or is a recognition, not for a player, it's a year long, for a level of a man for a whole year.
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