REAL MADRID have released a furious statement and confirmed they will not attend the Ballon d’Or as Vinicius Junior looks set to miss out on the top men’s prize.
Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri is set to win the award ahead of Los Blancos’ star forward.
It has since been reported Real Madrid will not send anybody to Monday night’s ceremony in Paris.
And now the Spanish champions have commented on the matter – claiming the outcome of the Ballon d’Or shows the organisation and Uefa “do not respect” Real Madrid.
They also claim one interpretation of the criteria should have led to Real and Spanish full-back Dani Carvajal winning the award.
They told AFP: “If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner.
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“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.”
The Ballon d’Or is voted for by a panel of journalists representing the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings.
Vinicius, who scored 24 goals and provided 11 assists last season, is one of six Real Madrid stars who made the 30-player shortlist for the award.
He is joined by Carvajal, Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, Kylian Mbappe and Antonio Rudiger.
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Toni Kroos, who helped Real win the LaLiga title and Champions League last season before retiring from football, also made the shortlist.
Rodri, who is the obvious candidate to win the Ballon d’Or at the expense of Vinicius, was instrumental in Man City’s fourth successive Premier League title.
He then helped Spain win the Euros as Luis de la Fuente’s men triumphed in Germany.
Vinicius is expected to come second behind Rodri, with Bellingham third.
Rodri will become only the third player since 2007 to receive the award outside of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Luka Modric won in 2018, while Karim Benzema took top spot in 2022.
Ballon d’Or nominees in full
Men’s award
- Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid)
- Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Turkey, Inter)
- Dani Carvajal (Spain, Real Madrid)
- Rúben Dias (Portugal, Manchester City)
- Artem Dovbyk (Ukraine, Dnipro / Girona / Roma)
- Phil Foden (England, Manchester City)
- Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain, Bayer Leverkusen)
- Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City)
- Mats Hummels (Germany, Borussia Dortmund)
- Harry Kane (England, Bayern Munich)
- Toni Kroos (Germany, Real Madrid)
- Ademola Lookman (Nigeria, Atalanta)
- Emiliano Martínez (Argentina, Aston Villa)
- Lautaro Martínez (Argentina, Inter )
- Kylian Mbappé (France, Paris Saint-Germain / Real Madrid)
- Martin Ødegaard (Norway, Arsenal)
- Dani Olmo (Spain, Leipzig / Barcelona)
- Cole Palmer (England, Manchester City / Chelsea)
- Declan Rice (England, Arsenal)
- Rodri (Spain, Manchester City)
- Antonio Rüdiger (Germany, Real Madrid)
- Bukayo Saka (England, Arsenal)
- William Saliba (France, Arsenal)
- Federico Valverde (Uruguay, Real Madrid)
- Vinícius Júnior (Brazil, Real Madrid)
- Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain)
- Nico Williams (Spain, Athletic Club)
- Florian Wirtz (Germany, Bayer Leverkusen)
- Granit Xhaka (Switzerland, Bayer Leverkusen)
- Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
Women’s award
- Barbra Banda (Zambia, Shanghai RCB / Orlando Pride)
- Aitana Bonmatí (Spain, Barcelona)
- Lucy Bronze (England, Barcelona / Chelsea)
- Mariona Caldentey (Spain, Barcelona / Arsenal)
- Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi, Paris Saint-Germain / Olympique Lyonnais)
- Grace Geyoro (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
- Manuela Giugliano (Italy, AS Roma)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway, Barcelona)
- Patricia Guijarro (Spain, Barcelona)
- Giulia Gwinn (Germany, Bayern Munich)
- Yui Hasegawa (Japan, Manchester City)
- Ada Hegerberg (Norway, Olympique Lyonnais)
- Lauren Hemp (England, Manchester City)
- Lindsey Horan (USA, Olympique Lyonnais)
- Lauren James (England, Chelsea)
- Marie-Antoinette Katoto (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
- Alyssa Naeher (USA, Chicago Red Stars)
- Sjoeke Nüsken (Germany, Chelsea)
- Ewa Pajor (Poland, VfL Wolfsburg / Barcelona)
- Salma Paralluelo (Spain, Barcelona)
- Gabi Portilho (Brazil, Corinthians)
- Alexia Putellas (Spain, Barcelona)
- Mayra Ramírez (Colombia, Levante / Chelsea)
- Trinity Rodman (USA, Washington Spirit)
- Lea Schüller (Germany, Bayern Munich)
- Khadija Shaw (Jamaica, Manchester City)
- Sophia Smith (USA, Portland Thorns)
- Mallory Swanson (USA, Chicago Red Stars)
- Tarciane (Brazil, Corinthians / Houston Dash)
- Glódís Viggósdóttir (Iceland, Bayern Munich)
Yashin Trophy
- Diogo Costa (Portugal, Porto)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy, Paris Saint-Germain)
- Gregor Kobel (Switzerland, Borussia Dortmund)
- Andriy Lunin (Ukraine, Real Madrid)
- Mike Maignan (France, Milan)
- Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia, Valencia)
- Emiliano Martínez (Argentina, Aston Villa)
- Unai Simón (Spain, Athletic Club)
- Yann Sommer (Switzerland, Inter)
- Ronwen Williams (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)
Kopa Trophy
- Pau Cubarsí (Spain, Barcelona)
- Alejandro Garnacho (Argentina, Manchester United)
- Arda Güler (Turkey, Real Madrid)
- Karim Konaté (Ivory Coast, Salzburg)
- Kobbie Mainoo (England, Manchester United)
- João Neves (Portugal, Benfica / Paris Saint-Germain)
- Savinho (Brazil, Girona / Manchester City)
- Mathys Tel (France, Bayern Munich)
- Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
- Warren Zaïre-Emery (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
Men’s coach award
- Xabi Alonso (Spain, Bayer Leverkusen)
- Carlo Ancelotti (Italy, Real Madrid)
- Luis de la Fuente (Spain, Spain national team)
- Gian Piero Gasperini (Italy, Atalanta)
- Pep Guardiola (Spain, Manchester City)
- Lionel Scaloni (Argentina, Argentina national team)
Women’s coach award
- Sonia Bompastor (France, Olympique Lyonnais / Chelsea)
- Arthur Elias (Brazil, Corinthians / Brazil national team)
- Jonatan Giráldez (Spain, Barcelona / Washington Spirit)
- Emma Hayes (England, Chelsea / USA national team)
- Filipa Patão (Portugal, Benfica)
- Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands, England national team)
Men club of the year award
- Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
- Girona (Spain)
- Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
- Manchester City (England)
- Real Madrid (Spain)
Women’s club of the year award
- Barcelona (Spain)
- Chelsea (England)
- NJ/NY Gotham (USA)
- Olympique Lyonnais (France)
- Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
