Just moments after the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony, which went to Manchester City’s Rodri, Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, spoke out about Real Madrid, who boycotted the event due to the treatment of Vinicius Junior.
The football world witnessed a legendary night on Monday. With all eyes turned towards the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris since the morning for the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony, a shockwave hit the scene. Announced as the favourite to win the 68th edition of this prestigious individual award, Vinicius Junior had the unpleasant surprise of learning that Rodri was the winner. Stunned like the rest of Real Madrid, the 24-year-old player did not travel to France.
Garcia opens up on Real
As reactions flood in and Real Madrid blame UEFA for preventing Vinicius Junior’s victory due to the Super League dispute with Florentino Pérez, Vincent Garcia, the head of France Football’s editorial team, broke his silence. Speaking frankly, the Frenchman addressed Real Madrid’s boycott, which he struggled to accept, in an interview with L’Équipe.
“What I can guarantee you is that no one knew about the result, neither on Real’s side nor on City’s. Perhaps they had a feeling, maybe even that the Clasico didn’t help, I’m not sure… At the moment when Real made their decision, I’m not convinced they were 100% certain that Vinicius wouldn’t win the Ballon d’Or,” Garcia revealed, continuing to assure that the result did not leak through the winner.
“I’ve always been straightforward”
Later in the interview, following the ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet, where several attendees chanted Vinicius Junior’s name during the Ballon d’Or announcement, the France Football official disclosed he had faced pressure from Real.
“I was under a lot of pressure from Real Madrid, like with other clubs. I’ve always been clear, always been straightforward. Maybe Real Madrid interpreted my silence as an admission, I don’t know what to tell you… I was very surprised, unpleasantly so, but I don’t want to spend my evening talking about Real. I’d rather talk about the winner,” concluded the head of the monthly magazine.
In any case, this year’s ceremony will go down in the sport’s history as one of the biggest scandals. Real Madrid will need to focus on the rest of the season to prove once again that they are the best in the world, despite what a handful of people think.
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