Vinicius Jr missed out on Ballon d'Or to Rodri by slimmest of margins after full voting results disclosed

The razor-thin margin, disclosed by France Football ahead of their print edition's release on Saturday, represents one of the closest contests in recent years for the coveted golden ball.

The revelation comes in the wake of Real Madrid's controversial boycott of last month's Paris ceremony, where the Spanish giants refused to attend after learning of the result.

Each of the 99 judges for the men's award submitted a top-10 list, with first-place votes worth 15 points, followed by 12, 10, eight, seven, five, four, three, two and one point for the final position.

The total points available in the voting system amounted to 6,633, making the 41-point gap between the top two remarkably slim.

For comparison, Lionel Messi's victory over Erling Haaland in 2023 came with a 105-point cushion, while Karim Benzema's 2022 triumph saw him finish 356 points ahead of runner-up Sadio Mane.

The closest margin in recent history remains Messi's seven-point victory over Virgil van Dijk in 2019.

Real Madrid's decision to boycott the ceremony came after they deemed the result "a miscarriage of sporting justice."

EXCLUSIVE: West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui on the brink of the sack ahead of crunch fixture

The Spanish club released a strongly-worded statement, declaring: "If the award criteria doesn't give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner."

"As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d'Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected," the statement continued.

The club ordered all representatives, including players, coaches and executives, to skip the Paris event after learning of both Vinicius and Carvajal missing out on the prize.

READ MORE: Mike Tyson offered money by 'wealthy friends' to cancel Jake Paul fight as controversial bout nears

The voting details revealed some surprising patterns, with five jurors completely omitting Rodri from their top 10, while three excluded Vinicius.

Nine different players received at least one first-place vote, with Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham earning five top rankings.

Dani Carvajal claimed four first-place votes, while retiring midfielder Toni Kroos received two.

Among non-Madrid players, Ademola Lookman of Atalanta was a surprise recipient of a first-place vote, joining Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, and Lautaro Martínez as the only other players to top any judge's list.

More judges included Vinicius (96) in their top 10 than Rodri (94).

The complete top 15 rankings show Jude Bellingham securing third place with 917 points, whilst Dani Carvajal finished fourth with 550 points.

LATEST SPORT NEWS:

• Judd Trump decides to leave the UK as snooker star says: 'I don't really enjoy it'
• England cricket legend Ian Botham rescued from crocodile-infested river with nasty bruising from incident
• Lewis Hamilton blocked Mercedes from spectacular Lando Norris deal as Toto Wolff reveals all

Erling Haaland rounded out the top five with 432 points, followed closely by Kylian Mbappe (420) and Lautaro Martinez (402).

Barcelona's young star Lamine Yamal placed eighth with 383 points, ahead of Real Madrid's Toni Kroos (291).

Harry Kane completed the top 10 with 201 points, followed by Phil Foden (157), Florian Wirtz (101), Dani Olmo (86), Ademola Lookman (82), and Nico Williams (73) making up the top 15.