MADRID, Nov 24 (EUROPA PRESS) – Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez says Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Rodri Hernández “deserves a Ballon d’Or, but not this year.” He expressed his disbelief that no Madrid player had won the award, pointing out that it is illogical for the organizers of the award to partner with UEFA while European clubs are “struggling” to their “freedom and survival.”
“I want to clarify that Rodri is an excellent footballer, and he is from Madrid. He has our affection and the recognition of Real Madrid. Without a doubt, he deserved a Ballon d’Or, but not this year. His Ballon d’Or Gold should have been awarded last year, when he won the treble and scored the decisive goal in the Champions League final,” he said during his opening speech at the General Assemblies ordinary and extraordinary representative members.
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In this regard, he claimed that the Ballon d’Or “should go to a Real Madrid player, regardless of the criteria applied.” “Whether it’s Vinícius, as suggested by the cry from the heart of fans around the world, and as indicated by a poll carried out by L’Équipe, which named Vinícius as the winner with 41% of the votes; or our captain , Dani Carvajal, if extra weight were to be given for Spain’s victory at Euro 2024 or even Jude Bellingham, who also reached the European Cup final and had a season; spectacular,” he expressed.
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“The truth is that it is very difficult to explain why no Real Madrid player has won the award. However, some surprising things have happened that I want to share. For example, it is surprising that in the statement of UEFA, let’s not forget that for the first time the awards are in partnership with the Amaury Group, the owners of France Football and L’Équipe. It is clearly stated that UEFA’s entry would have no impact. and that the voting system would remain unchanged and independent,” he continued.
In this sense, the club president explained that they had indeed changed the voting system, “increasing the number of players to vote for from 5 to 10.” “They also increased the number of points a journalist can award to a single player from 6 to 15, more than double. It is also surprising that, being football the only global sport in the world, journalists from countries like India, representing 1.5 billion people, are not participating in the Ballon d’Or voting this year. Meanwhile, journalists from countries with populations of less than 1 million participated for the first time this year. ,” he emphasized.
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Thus, he believes that “without the impact of the votes of journalists from just four countries — Namibia, Uganda, Albania and Finland — Vinícius would have won the Ballon d’Or.” “Yet, among these four countries, some do not even consider Vinícius in their top 10, giving him no points. Can we understand that there are journalists who consider that Vinícius is not one of the best in the world and don’t even give him a vote? The Finnish journalist resigned, admitting his voting mistake, and said he would never be on the Ballon d’Or jury again. I appreciate that at least he acknowledges it. ,” he expressed.
Pérez confirmed that Ballon d’Or organizers must clarify “the criteria on which journalists, many of whom are unknown, operate.” “I would ask France Football and L’Équipe, who created the European Cup with Madrid in the 1950s against UEFA opposition, if it makes sense to partner with UEFA at this time crucial moment where European clubs are fighting for their freedom and survival, especially when the courts of the European Union have ruled that UEFA was exercising an abuse of monopoly,” he underlined.
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“The Ballon d’Or must be organized independently, and the votes for this distinction should be in the hands of people of recognized prestige, national coaches, who, everyone understands, play for their own reputation with their votes “We do not know who voted in countries that we do not recognize. Due to all these circumstances, Real Madrid considered it appropriate not to attend this edition of the Ballon d’Or ceremony. -he concluded.
