Real Madrid have released a furious statement after the club’s frontline nominee for 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or award Vinicius Jr was snubbed by the organizers of the award.
Recall the club boycotted the award in the last minute after they learnt Vinicius Jr will not win the award. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is said to have ordered the cancelation of a 50-man high-powered delegation slated to attend the ceremony due to the brutal snub of Vinicius Jr.
Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri won the the award ahead of Los Blancos’ star forward with Real Madrid furious that they have been cheated.
Now the Spanish champions have commented on the matter – claiming the outcome of the Ballon d’Or shows the organisation and UEFA “do not respect” Real Madrid.
They also claim one interpretation of the criteria should have led to Real and Spanish full-back Dani Carvajal winning the award.
They told AFP: “If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner
“As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d’Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected.”
2024 Ballon d’Or voting and top candidates
The Ballon d’Or is voted for by a panel of journalists representing the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings.
Vinicius, who scored 24 goals and provided 11 assists last season, is one of six Real Madrid stars who made the 30-player shortlist for the award.
He was joined by Carvajal, Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, Kylian Mbappe and Antonio Rudiger.
Toni Kroos, who helped Real win the LaLiga title and Champions League last season before retiring from football, also made the shortlist.
Rodri, who clinched the award at the expense of Vinicius, was instrumental in Man City’s fourth successive Premier League title.
He then helped Spain win the Euros as Luis de la Fuente’s men triumphed in Germany.
Vinicius came second behind Rodri, with Bellingham third with Rodri becoming only the third player since 2007 to receive the award outside of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Luka Modric won in 2018, while Karim Benzema took top spot in 2022.
Clarence Seedorf hints on why Vinicius Jr lost the award
Dutch football legend Clarence Seedorf, who attended the award ceremony in Paris hinted on why Vinicius Jr did not win the award. Seedorf described the award as a shame, citing a problem between Real Madrid and UEFA as one of the reasons Vinicius Jr was snubbed for Rodri.
“I think there are problems between Real Madrid and UEFA, which affected some things in the results. Vinicius Junior is the one who definitely deserves the award. It is a shame,” he said.
Notably, Real Madrid also blasted UEFA and the award organizers for disrespecting them with the Ballon d’Or decision.
While it is still unclear what the feud between the two parties are, Futballnews understands Real Madrid have been at loggerheads with UEFA recently for nursing the ideal of a break-away Europe-wide club competition independent of UEFA rules.
Real Madrid led other clubs to form the belated European Super League which was widely condemned by football governing authorities. How the ensuing feud between the two parties influenced the 2024 Ballon d’Or award proceedings has yet to be unraveled.
Meanwhile, organizers of the award reveal that Vinicius Jr lost due to the number of Real Madrid players that made it to the top five of the Ballon d’Or rankings.
