Honestly, I can't get over the shock. Real Madrid, the richest football club in the world, which has display cases full of various trophies, took offense at the whole world and boycotted the award ceremony at the Ballon d'Or gala. The reason for this decisive step was the fact that the Madrid club's player did not receive the main trophy Vinicius Junior. The charter, which was supposed to deliver the entire 60-person delegation to the gala in Paris, was canceled four hours before the start. And “Marca” wrote that the Real Madrid camp said that the Ballon d'Or does not exist for them.
Real Madrid tells the experts who to vote for
The club itself issued a statement which read: “If the criteria do not point to Vinicius winning, they should honor Carvajal. Since this did not happen, it is obvious that the Ballon d'Or and UEFA do not respect Real Madrid and Real will not be where he is not “respect”.
However, these are strange words. Does a football club really tell the experts who to choose? It's something unfathomable. I think that if Real attaches so much importance to the Ballon d'Or, they should issue such a statement before the vote. Today is too late. Of course I'm joking. If I were a juror, I would especially not vote for a club player who exerts such pressure. Moreover, I think that Real showed with its attitude that it is doing everything to ensure that its players do not receive the award. Sport is not only about results on the field, but also about chivalry – to refer to the Olympic terminology – attitude off it. The joke that the European club champion put on during the gala shows that they in Madrid have no idea about it.
What is particularly surprising, however, is the fact that such a club, with such traditions and successes, is interested in a beauty contest of sorts. Suddenly their world collapsed because they didn't get the Ballon d'Or. Really, if it weren't for the bizarre boycott of Real Madrid, no one would be interested in this plebiscite the next day.
Real Madrid treated the Ballon d'Or as a canonization
I would like to remind you that in the 100 years of international competitions, no one has chosen the best football player world. The Golden Ball appeared only in the late 1950s and for many decades it was an award only for Europeans. Neither Pele nor Pele got it Diego Maradona and it doesn't matter at all for their role in the history of football. Robert Lewandowski didn't get it and probably won't either, but does that stop his fans from considering him the best football player in the world?
Arguments about who is the best football player world, are something natural and everyone has their own arguments, beliefs and sympathies. Meanwhile, it seems that Real treat the Ballon d'Or as if some kind of canonization took place in Paris and Rodri was raised to the altar of football. And nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone can question this choice and think differently, and write, as Lewandowski once did: that it's a cabaret.
Yes, the Ballon d'Or has its marketing value and maybe the dog is buried there. Real is creating an ideology about respect and its lack precisely because they could get real money from choosing Vinicius Junior. And just like that, the money was gone.
Real has busted its ass, the rest of the world is already giving slaps
Of course, these are just guesses. It is difficult to rationally explain why a club that does not need another Ballon d'Or to confirm its greatness would create such hysteria over such a trivial matter.
The offended Real stuck his ass out at everyone, and now everyone is giving those exposed buttocks harsh slaps. The whole world perceives the boycott of Real Madrid as unnecessary buffoonery, and the German “Bild” even went so far as to demand the exclusion of the Spanish club's players from the 2025 edition of the Ballon d'Or.
If I could allow myself a small digression – it's good that in the Michael Jordan era there was a different mentality in the Chicago Bulls than in Real Madrid today. If it weren't for this, the Bulls would probably start their own league. Jordan, although he was the top scorer in the regular season 10 times NBA and his skills surpassed all his contemporary basketball players, he was chosen the league's best player only five times.
The boycott of Real Madrid could be called an embarrassment, childishness, and lack of respect for the rest of the football world, if it weren't for one fact. Sport was invented as an area of life detached from everyday life, where fair play and respect for the opponent are obligatory. It was supposed to be a model for others and show that there are values that cannot be regulated by law, but which make the world a better place. Meanwhile, it becomes what politics is. Serving your own hard core electorate.