Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar has criticised the final 2022 Ballon d'Or ranking, with the Brazilian disappointed with a certain Real Madrid star's finish.
Neymar was one of the notable absentees from this year's final 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist following a disappointing 2021/22 campaign, along with his PSG teammate and seven-time winner of the award Lionel Messi.
Read: 'Benzema deserved Ballon d'Or, but he's not world's best player'
This year was only the second occasion since 2008 when the prize was not awarded to either Messi or Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, with Karim Benzema claiming the accolade for the first time to replicate his teammate Luka Modric's Golden Ball win in 2018.
In the lead-up to the ceremony on Monday night, the France international was considered the outright favourite, and his 2021/22 exploits were enough to see him become only the fifth Frenchman to have claimed the prestigious accolade, joining Les Bleus legends Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, and Zinedine Zidane.
KICKOFF has moved to a new online stadium, SNL24.com! Register on SNL24.com to get the full functionality of the website, including the ability to comment on stories, save articles for later, access weather and traffic alerts for your area, and subscribe to newsletters!Neymar has since admitted that Benzema was a worthy champion of the prize, but made it clear he was unimpressed with his compatriot Vinicius Junior's eighth-place finish.
"Benzema, well deserved, top player!" the 30-year-old wrote on Twitter.
"But Vini Jr in eighth, it's a joke.
"He's top three minimum."
Vinicius had his best campaign to date in Real colours last season, registering 30 goal contributions in 35 LaLiga games, plus 11 goals and assists in 13 UEFA Champions League matches.
He also scored the winner in the final of the continental competition against Liverpool to help the Spanish giants clinch their record 14th UCL trophy.
Read: Pogba's agent: Why Paul struggled at Man Utd
The 22-year-old was beaten to the Ballon d'Or podium by Sadio Mane and Kevin De Bruyne, who finished second and third, respectively, while Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe, and Thibaut Courtois also finished ahead of him in the final ranking.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH BENZEMA AND COURTOIS CELEBRATE THEIR BALLON D'OR AWARD WINS WITH REAL MADRID TEAMMATES:
