MADRID: Spanish football giant Real Madrid likes to define itself as a 'Club Senor'—literally a gentleman who represents the most sporting behaviour—but events on Monday have shown that words are one thing, and actions are another. The club decided at the last minute to boycott the Ballon d'Or award ceremony held in Paris after learning that Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr. would not be given the prestigious award, which would instead go to Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri.
A source at the club has told Xinhua that the 50-person Madrid delegation, which included Vinicius, Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal and coach Carlo Ancelotti, was inside the aircraft ready to take off for Paris when the club's president Florentino Perez decided nobody would travel, reports Xinhua.
Real Madrid TV also cancelled a planned five-hour show to cover the ceremony live at the last minute, and the club then issued a statement criticizing the decision not to award the Ballon d'Or to their players, reports Xinhua.
"If the award criteria don't give it to Vinicius as the winner, then 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, " reads the communique.
Vinicius also criticized the decision in a social media post that simply reads, "I'll do it 10x if I have to. They're not ready." His teammate Aurelien Tchouameni posted, "Nothing will take away what you've achieved, my brother. We ALL know... They are not ready for what you're gonna deliver."
While Vinicius Jr has an excellent case to have been awarded the Ballon d'Or, after his displays in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, Rodri also had a magnificent season, helping City win the Premier League and also being vital as Spain won the UEFA European Championship. Real Madrid and Vinicius' comments about the award show a huge lack of respect for a player they were even linked with interest in signing over the summer.
It is probably Rodri's performances at the international level that tipped the balance, with Vinicius disappointing as Brazil was knocked out of the quarterfinals in the Copa America.
Real Madrid's claims that Carvajal should have won the Ballon d'Or if Vinicius hadn't also have some merit, given that he won La Liga, the Champions League, and the European Championship, but as a right-back, he had less influence on games than either Vinicius or central midfielder Rodri. It's also a fact that nobody at Real Madrid or the pro-Real Madrid media had mentioned him as a possible winner until it became clear that Vinicius would not lift the Ballon d'Or.
So, despite Ancelotti winning the Johan Cruyff Award for the Coach of the Year and Real Madrid being named the Men's Club of the Year, nobody in Paris could accept the awards.
To call Real Madrid's reaction 'childish' is an understatement, but as well as acting like a spoilt child, the club missed a chance to make an important statement: They won two awards and had Vinicius second in the voting, with Bellingham third, Carvajal fourth, Mbappe sixth and former midfielder Toni Kroos ninth.
Instead of boycotting the ceremony, even though Vinicius didn't win, it was a chance for the club to say "Look at us - we have the best team, the best coach, three of the best four players in the world, and five of the top 10."
Instead, they chose to stay on the tarmac, and the empty seats in Paris say just as much about the club as their achievements on the pitch.