Real Madrid's boycott of the Ballon d'Or ceremony on the grounds that the Spanish club believes its striker Vinicius will not be crowned is a bad thing for football according to Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.
Long the big favorite to receive the 2024 Ballon d'Or, Vinicius Jr should ultimately not win the prestigious trophy. A snub for Real Madrid who chose to boycott the ceremony organized this Monday in Paris.
“It is not good for football that an entity like Real Madrid is not present at a gala of this size,” reacted the winner of Euro 2024 on the red carpet in front of the Châtelet theater in Paris , where the trophy for best player of the season must be awarded.
>> Relive the 2024 Ballon d’or ceremony
The anger of Real Madrid
Certain that Vinicius Jr would not receive the Ballon d'Or, Real Madrid announced late in the afternoon that it was boycotting Monday evening's meeting in Paris.
“If the award criteria do not designate Vinicius as the winner, these same criteria should designate Carvajal as the winner. As this was not the case, it is obvious that the UEFA Ballon d'Or does not respect the Real Madrid. And Real Madrid is not where it is not respected,” said the Madrid club, winner of the Champions League last spring.
According to information from RMC Sport, Florentino Perez, president of the Spanish club, was particularly annoyed and angry after the leaks on Vinicius Jr's non-victory.
The organizers are playing the suspense card
After the Real Madrid boycott, the organizers of the Ballon d'Or ceremony tried to activate the countermeasures while maintaining a certain suspense.
“No player or club knows on Monday afternoon who won” the trophy, the organizers told AFP. “All clubs and players are in the same boat,” they added, and therefore Real cannot know whether or not one of its players will be crowned.
If no player from the Merengue club, to which are added Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham, ranked in the top ten like Vinicius Jr, Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal, is crowned, Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri is the big favorite.
