After Failed Attempts to Convince Him to Attend.. Real Madrid Insists on Boycotting the Ballon d'Or Award

SadaNews - The dispute between Real Madrid and the organizers of the Ballon d'Or award continues, following the failure of a delegation from France Football magazine to convince the royal club's management to attend the upcoming ceremony scheduled for September 22.

The Ballon d'Or ceremony last year witnessed a complete rift and a collapse of relations between the award's organizers (France Football and UEFA) and Real Madrid.

Real Madrid believed that what occurred during the highest accolades of the ceremony did not correspond to the reality of what actually happened when honoring the best player in the world.

Despite all the preparations, Vinícius Júnior ultimately lost the award, which went to Rodrigo Hernández (Rodri) of Manchester City.

The result led to Real Madrid's withdrawal from the ceremony held at the Châtelet Theater in Paris, resulting in the cancellation of the entire team's trip, which included Carlo Ancelotti (winner of the Best Coach award), Dani Carvajal, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, and Vinícius, who had planned to hold a celebration in Paris for winning and being crowned the best player in the world.

Real Madrid's withdrawal led to the collapse of the Parisian ceremony, marking a shock to the football world.

The Dispute Continues

Marca newspaper revealed that in recent months, France Football has attempted to rebuild relations with the club by sending a delegation from the French organization to Madrid, but the meetings were unsuccessful.

The delegation was seeking to reach an understanding before the award ceremony for the 2024-2025 season, scheduled for September 22.

The newspaper states that Real Madrid has not taken kindly to what happened last season, especially the reasons that led to changing evaluation methods and some of the criteria used.

Spanish newspaper "El Desmarque" pointed out that Real Madrid does not have a good relationship with the award-issuing committee, following the disclosure of the shortlist of candidates in all categories of the award for 2025, which included players from Real Madrid.

It added that it is natural for clubs representing players on that list to announce the nominees through social media to celebrate the players and coaches, but Real Madrid remained silent on the matter.

The royal team believed that if Vinícius did not win the award, according to France Football's standards, his teammate Dani Carvajal should have been the winner, which did not happen either. Ancelotti also did not receive the award for Best Coach in the world for the 2023-2024 season.

Alongside Barcelona, Real Madrid has the most Ballon d'Or awards for men, with a total of 12 awards.

Alfredo Di Stéfano, Luís Figo, Ronaldo Nazário, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modrić, and Karim Benzema have won the award in the white team’s jersey, a number that far exceeds any other team.

Source: Marca