There were some notable absentees from Monday night’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris. Vinícius Jr headed into the awards as the strong favourite to succeed Lionel Messi and win the prestigious prize.
However, it seemed the Brazilian’s entourage, as well as everyone else at Real Madrid, got wind of who would win, and it wasn’t going to be Vinícius Jr. Sources within the La Liga club told The Athletic that they believed that Manchester City’s Rodri would win the prize, and they were right.
Anticipating the snub and in protest, Real Madrid cancelled their trip to Paris for the ceremony, with the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Florentino Pérez, Vinícius Jr., Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, and Kylian Mbappé all remaining in Spain. Speaking to L’Équipe, the head of France Football, Vincent García, stated that there was no leak.
Real Madrid exerted pressure on Ballon d’Or organisers
“The clubs of the favourites all insisted on having the information. We were clear with them from the start: this year, the winner would not be warned. I thought that everyone had accepted that and at the last minute, some panicked, some wanted to change the rules of the games, which, however, were pretty clear,” began the head of France Football, the organisers of the Ballon d’Or.
He added, “What I can guarantee is that no one at Real Madrid or at Manchester City was aware [of the winner]. Maybe they (Real Madrid) had a feeling, a strong feeling. Perhaps, the Clásico (lost against Barcelona 4-0) didn’t help. I don’t know. At the time that Real Madrid took its decision, I’m not sure that they knew 100% that Vinícius hadn’t won the Ballon d’Or.”
García then hypothesised why Real Madrid, uncertain of the outcome of the vote, took such a strong stance and boycotted the ceremony. “I had a lot of pressure from Real Madrid, just like other clubs. I have always been clear and fair. Perhaps my silence and my responses were taken as a confession. I don’t know what to tell you. I was unpleasantly surprised but I don’t want to spend my evening talking about Real Madrid,” he told L’Équipe.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
