Football: For Florentino Pérez, “the Ballon d’Or should have gone to a Real Madrid player” and asks that the trophy be awarded “independently”.

Sunday 24th November 2024 10:24 AM

The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, stressed on Sunday November 24, during the club’s general assembly, that “the Ballon d’Or should have gone to a Real Madrid player” and accused UEFA of interfering in the trophy presentation process.

“Rodri (the Ballon d’Or winner) is a great player, and a madridista to boot. It has nothing to do with him. He deserved a Ballon d’Or, but not this one. Last year’s is the one he should have won, after his hat-trick (with Manchester City) and his goal in the Champions League final. This was intended for a Real Madrid player,” said the Madrid president, remaining firm in his decision to boycott the ceremony.

Florentino Pérez pleads for a strengthened club structure during the General Assembly

“Vinicius seemed to have unanimous support, but it could very well have been our captain, Dani Carvajal. Or even Jude Bellingham, a Euro finalist who had an exceptional season. It is very difficult to explain this,” he assured in front of more than a thousand club members.

The Spanish businessman, openly at war with the world Football authorities and supporter of the controversial European Super League project, accused UEFA, which partnered with France Football to organize the ceremony for the first time this year, to interfere in the voting process:

“They changed the voting system (from 5 players to 10), as well as the number of points (from 6 to 15) that each journalist can assign to each player. (…) Without the votes of four countries – Namibia, Uganda, Albania and Finland – Vinicius would have won the Ballon d’Or. They didn’t even give him a single point! » he lamented.

Esports: Thibaut Courtois launches his team specializing in racing simulation

The influential president also questioned L’Équipe and France Football on the meaning of “partnering with UEFA today when European clubs are fighting to obtain their freedom and free themselves from UEFA’s monopoly” , demanding that the Ballon d’Or be an “independent” trophy with more transparent criteria.