Real Madrid’s Ballon d’Or nominees to miss ceremony

Famously, in protest at the decision to hand the Ballon d’Or to Manchester City’s Rodri, rather than Vinícius Jr., Real Madrid boycotted last year’s ceremony in Paris. RMC Sport understands that Los Blancos’ nominees will once again miss this year’s edition. 

This year, Vinícius Jr. has once again been nominated, as have Jude Bellingham and France captain Kylian Mbappé. The latter had already confirmed that he would miss the ceremony in Paris. Speaking to CBS Sports following Los Blancos’ win over Olympique de Marseille in the UEFA Champions League last week, Mbappé spoke about the potential of his friend and compatriot, Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé, winning the award.

“I will be happy if Dembélé wins [it] because he is my friend and I have supported him from the start. I will watch it on TV and hope that he wins it,” said the Frenchman. With Mbappé’s absence already confirmed, RMC Sport understands that the two other Real Madrid nominees will also miss the ceremony. 

Officially, the publication states, the club have explained that those who want to attend the ceremony can. But once again, it will be a no-show from Los Blancos. No Real Madrid players are tipped to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle