In conflict with UEFA for months over the Super League, Florentino Pérez and Real Madrid narrowly avoided a significant humiliation this Monday at the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony. The class of Manchester City is greatly praised in Madrid.
The Ballon d’Or: it is the topic that has been stirring the professional football world since this Monday. As every year, France Football awards a player with its coveted trophy. This year, Vinicius Junior, one of the top contenders for this year’s edition, has faced an incredible disappointment. Indeed, although he had been announced as the winner for months, the Madrid winger received the bad news, just like Florentino Pérez, in the final hours before the ceremony.
The great class of Manchester City
As revealed by several Iberian media outlets, Real Madrid, confident that Vinicius Junior would win the 68th Ballon d’Or, or at worst Dani Carvajal, was preparing to travel to France. With a delegation of about fifty people, Florentino Pérez, who had tried to find out the name of the winner a bit earlier from the France Football officials, was set to arrive in style at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
Fortunately, before departure, the officials from Manchester City had the class to unveil the winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or to the Madrid delegation. Without this revelation, Real Madrid, which ultimately boycotted the event in protest, would have faced significant humiliation upon Rodri’s announcement as the winner. It must be said that, coincidentally, the rules changed this year, with UEFA joining for the first time in the organisation of this event.
The shame narrowly avoided
In Madrid, gratitude towards the Sky Blues is boundless for sabotaging the plans of the organisers of the 2024 Ballon d’Or, who advocated total discretion regarding the winner until the official announcement. Let us remember that Real Madrid had planned to celebrate their player lavishly with several events. On Vinicius’s side, the sponsor had also launched the hostilities for the celebration of the victory until Manchester City’s revelation.
As Marca indicates, the Ballon d’Or is an award that has lost its significance among the Madrid executives, who no longer want to hear about it. It is a significant disavowal for the organisers of this event, which loses credibility each year. Today, what matters for Madrid is to focus on the rest of the season and tackle the challenges awaiting the team. We will see how Vinicius Junior reacts on the pitch after the scandalous blow.
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