“I really love the way they do their career, (Jude) Bellingham, Lamine (Yamal) now, this young generation, Vinicius, they do a fantastic job,” Ronaldo said at the Globe Soccer Awards.
“In my opinion he (Vinicius) deserved to win the golden ball. It was unfair, I say it here in front of everybody,” added the Portuguese captain, who has won the award five times.
“They gave it to Rodri, he deserved it too but I think they should have given it to Vinicius because he won a Champions League.”
The Ballon d’Or is decided on the basis of a vote by a panel of journalists from the top 100 Fifa-ranked countries.