Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes named the player he thought was the best in the world ahead of the Ballon d’Or.
The Ballon d’Or winner will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on October 28th, with Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior and Manchester City midfielder Rodri among the favourites to claim the coveted prize.
And on Tuesday, six days before the winner is to be announced, Arsenal centre-back Gabriel threw his support behind international colleague Vinicius.
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The defender said, via Madrid Zone: “Vini Jr. is the best player in the world. No doubts. He deserves the Ballon d’Or."
Gabriel’s comments were made on an evening where Real overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Borussia Dortmund 5-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu, courtesy of a Vinicius hat-trick.
Having already netted a tap-in to level the scores, the Brazilian picked up the ball in his own half, beat Emre Can with pure pace, cut onto his right foot and fired a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
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Vinicius then rounded off his hat-trick by slaloming past three defenders and hammering a strike into the roof of the net.
"It's rare to see a player perform like Vinicius did in the second half, not just with the goals, but with an extraordinary energy, intensity, and character," Carlo Ancelotti said after the game. "I think he’s going to win the Ballon d'Or for what he did last year, helping us win the Champions League, not for today’s three goals, which will count towards next year’s Ballon d'Or."
Ancelotti added that he believes progress has been made regarding the racist abuse Vinicius has received since arriving in Spain.
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"I think he is respected as he should be. People boo him because he can make a difference," he added. "The racism issue is being addressed. He’s booed, and that's normal, but he is respected in this country."
Topics: Arsenal, Ballon d'Or, Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Magalhaes, Football, La Liga
Chris Byfield