Real Madrid have been denounced again by the LaLiga president for skipping the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on Monday night.
Javier Tebas has branded Madrid ‘childish’, ‘hotheaded’, and ‘supremacist’ in a staggering invective against the world’s richest football club.
Madrid refused to attend the glitzy awards gala after finding out in advance that their forward Vinicius Junior had not won the Ballon d’Or, with the Brazilian coming second to Manchester City’s Rodri.
It has now snowballed into a bitter dispute, with Vini Jr blaming his rejection on the fact he has stood up to racism in the game and Madrid claiming they were ‘not respected’.
‘I think that Real Madrid lacked the chivalry that has always been one of its hallmarks and is part of its anthem as well, shaking hands when it loses,’ said LaLiga kingpin Tebas, as per Marca.
Real Madrid were ‘childish’ and ‘hotheaded’ to skip the Ballon d’Or ceremony just because Vinicius Junior was the runner-up rather than the winner, says LaLiga president Javier Tebas
Tebas, a Madrid fan, said the club feels ‘everything has to revolve around them’
Rodri was crowned the first Spanish Ballon d’Or winner since 1960 after a stunning season
‘A lack of chivalry that has been lacking for some time. It didn’t surprise me. It was a childish attitude, a hotheadedness, call it what you want.
‘It was already seen in the attitude of Real Madrid TV with the videos. We see a supremacist behaviour that everything has to revolve around them.’
There seemed little grace from Madrid for Rodri, who in 2023-24 only lost one of 63 games for club and country (the FA Cup final against Manchester United), lifted the Euros, Premier League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup, scoring nine goals and notching 14 assists.
Vincent Garcia, the editor-in-chief of France Football, who are in charge of the award, explained why Vinicius Jr missed out.
‘Obviously, Vinicius surely suffered from the presence of Bellingham and Carvajal in the top 5 because, mathematically, that took away some points from him,’ he said.
‘This also sums up Real Madrid’s season, which took between three and four players and the judges shared their decisions between them, which benefited Rodri.
He added: ‘I had a lot of pressure from Real Madrid but, as with other clubs, I was always clear, fair and perhaps my silence pushed them to the limit.
‘But it was the same as with the others. I was very unpleasantly surprised by his absence.’
Madrid claimed they had not been ‘respected’, despite three of their stars being in the top four
Carlo Ancelotti was named the best men’s manager while Madrid took club of the year
On any other evening it would have been considered nothing short of a massive success for the Spanish side.
Real Madrid picked up the award for the best team of the year while Carlos ANcelotti was named the men’s manager of the year.
By all accounts, though, Los Blancos were incensed.
After being confirmed as the runner-up, Vinicius Jr wrote on X: ‘I will do it 10 times if I have to. They’re not ready.’
According to Reuters, this comment was a reference to his fight against racism in recent years.
‘The football world is not ready to accept a player who fights against the system.’ A member of the Brazilian winger’s management staff is quoted by the outlet as saying.
Vinicius has been at the centre of discussions on racism in football, having been target to abuse at least 16 occasions in recent years. Last month, he suggested that Spain should not host the World Cup in 2030 unless action is taken over the issue.
At this point Tebas initially waded in with some comments, telling Football Espana: ‘I think that, if you look, you will see that his statements were not entirely consistent with what he himself says in the interview. At the same time that he was saying that perhaps the World Cup should be re-considered, he was also saying that Spain is not a racist country.
‘Let’s remove what is incoherent and keep what is coherent: that Spain is not a racist country, and on that I agree with Vinicius.’
Vinicius, who has been the target of racist abuse at least 16 times in the last 18 months, blamed his snubbing on his fight against racism in the game
After Madrid played Valencia, three men were handed prison sentences for abuse
Rodri’s Spanish team-mate Lamine Yamal picked up the Kopa Trophy for the best young men’s player
Barcelona and Spain star Aitana Bonmati won a second successive women’s Ballon d’Or
Meanwhile, ahead of the event, RMC reported that Madrid president Florentino Perez was furious with the decision to award Rodri the top prize.
Journalist Jose Luis Sanchez claimed a 50-strong party was scheduled to jet out, only for them to cancel after discovering Vinicius would not win.
Sources at the club told ESPN Brazil that the snub was ‘historic robbery’.
Marca also reported that Madrid insiders have furiously declared ‘the Ballon d’Or no longer exists for us’.
A statement from Madrid to AFP said: ‘If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, 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.’