Real Madrid announced they would not attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on Monday, believing their star striker Vinicius, widely regarded as the favorite for the men’s award, has been unfairly overlooked.
United in defence of their players, Real Madrid has opted to forgo participation in the Ballon d’Or ceremony. The club views the decision to “ignore” Vinicius Jr, the clear favourite to win the men’s award, as an affront not only to the player but to the entire team.
Furthermore, their simultaneous complaint to the AFP news agency regarding the treatment of other players, such as Dani Carvajal, who also ranks highly in the standings, underscores their belief that the situation is “grossly unfair.”
“If the awarding criteria do not designate Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should certainly elevate Carvajal,” the club stated to the French agency.
“Since this has not occurred, it is evident that the UEFA Ballon d’Or does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid will not attend events where it is not respected.”
Experts, analysts, and even bookmakers had previously listed odds heavily in favour of Real Madrid’s number 7. However, in the run-up to the event, media reports such as Marca or AS, Madrid’s leading sports news figures, emerged indicating that the club had no intention of travelling, generating a social media uproar with fans eager for updates.
Unfortunately for Los Blancos, the news that then surfaced hadn’t been particularly positive, given that they were coming off a 0-4 loss to their bitter rivals Barcelona.
This turn of events may pave the way for the sensational Spanish midfielder Rodri from Manchester City, who won the Premier League and Euro 2024 being condecorated as the Player of the Tournament by UEFA. The Ballon d’Or is awarded by a panel of journalists representing the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings.
Notably, this marks the first time since 2003 that neither eight-time winner Lionel Messi nor five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo features among the finalists. The organisers of the Ballon d’Or opted for an innovative twist this year, keeping the identity of the winner under wraps until the very end to prevent any leaks to the press.
Undoubtedly, this plot twist has turned the anticipated win for Vinicius into a horror story, with the player once assumed to be the victor. In previous years, the winner was announced days before the awards ceremony, but this time the surprise has sent shockwaves through the footballing world.
The men’s award is voted on by a panel of journalists from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s rankings. All nominees were invited to the ceremony in Paris this evening.
The conspicuous absence of the Spanish national team players and the club’s recent declarations suggest that neither Vinicius, Carvajal, nor Jude Bellingham, the architects of the club’s European triumph, will lift the trophy tonight at the sophisticated Théâtre du Châtelet, inaugurated in 1862 and located in Paris’s first arrondissement.
