Handing the 2024 Ballon d'Or to Manchester City player Rodri rather than Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior has become a real political issue.
Now it's a total conflict between Real Madrid and the France Football editorial board, with the shadow of UEFA in the background. The decision by the Blanco club, and especially by its president Florentino Perez, to boycott the ceremony in Paris, which has been criticized worldwide, has angered France Football, the magazine that, since 1965, has awarded the prize to the best player in the world, collected the votes of his jurors. And now the collision is frontal.
The editor-in-chief of the French newspaper has shown that he felt pressure from the Madrid club, while the anger in the Real Madrid camp has not subsided at all. Even according to the prestigious Marca, statements from Valdebebas that the club no longer wants to know anything about the price of France Football go beyond simple revenge.
Vinicius, Ancelotti and Real Madrid were all set to travel to Paris on Sunday. The Brazilian had even notified family and friends to celebrate together in the French capital, but on Monday morning when they realized that Vinicius would not win, Florentino Perez decided to cancel everything.
What irked the Real Madrid president was UEFA's role as a partner of the Ballon d'Or gala evening, fueling suspicions that the decision not to award the award to a Real Madrid player was no fluke.
Everything is related to the conflict with Ceferi over the Super League, explains Marca.
Real Madrid values Rodri as a player and has nothing against the City midfielder; the fight is with France Football and UEFA.