This Sunday the Real Madrid members’ assembly was held, where discussions revolved around finances and the current state of the club. Florentino Pérez took this opportunity to highlight the Merengues’ main rivals.
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For the president of this prestigious institution, several football players harm not only the sport but also the Madrid club itself. The list of enemies included organizations such as LaLiga, UEFA, FIFA and notably the Ballon d’Or organization, which Pérez believes has lost all credibility.
During his speech, Florentino expressed how lucky he feels to lead the best club in the world, but the message didn’t stop there. He launched a strong criticism against FIFA, accusing it of increasing international blackout periods, and against UEFA for the format of their new Champions League.
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According to Pérez, these changes affect not only the clubs but also the players, who are subject to an increasingly crowded schedule.
Regarding the Ballon d’Or, the president reiterated that the winner should have been a White House player and expressed his dissatisfaction with the voting process for this award. In addition, during the 2024 edition, no member or representative of the Merengue institution was present at the ceremony.
“Rodri enjoys the affection and recognition of Real Madrid because he undoubtedly deserves a Ballon d’Or, but not this year. His Ballon d’Or was last year when he won the treble and scored decisively in the Champions League final (…) It is obvious that this year the Ballon d’Or should have gone to a Real Madrid player, whatever criterion you choose, ” he said.
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The president stressed that UEFA’s influence on the award contributed to the latter’s loss of credibility and prestige. He also explained that the involvement of journalists “that no one knows” altered the result for Vinicius Jr., who he said should have won the Ballon d’Or.
“Journalists from countries with less than a million inhabitants participated for the first time this year. Moreover, no one knows them. With these rules, it turns out that, for example, without the impact of votes journalists from just four countries like Uganda, Namibia, Albania and Finland, Vinicius would have won the Ballon d’Or,” he concluded.
