Famous football club, Real Madrid said they will stay away from the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on Monday as they are convinced that their striker Vinicius, the favourite to win the men’s award, has been snubbed.
According to the reports, the club feels the Ballon d’Or voting criteria does not respect the club.
Hence, they will not travel to Paris for the ceremony, and that means Vinicus Junior and Jude Bellingham will not be attending despite being among the main contenders.
If Vinicius, and presumably also Bellingham, hasn’t won, the most likely contender and new favourite is Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri off the back of his Premier League and Euro 2024-winning season.
Did Real Madrid know about the winner?
The Ballon d’Or organisers decided to innovate this year by keeping the winner’s identity a secret until the very end, to avoid any leaks to the press and all the nominees were invited to Monday’s ceremony in the French capital.
In previous years, the winner was revealed a few days before the awards ceremony.
In response to Real Madrid’s boycott, which was announced as the nominees were gathering for the glitzy ceremony at a Paris theatre, the organisers insisted that “no player or club” knew in advance who has won the award.
