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The Spanish website Cadena Ser confirmed, on Monday, that Real Madrid concealed the truth from its Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior about the Ballon d’Or award, which was won by Manchester City’s Spaniard Rodri last Monday.
The Real Madrid delegation, led by Vinicius, the most likely candidate to win the Best Player Award in the period preceding the awards ceremony, which was organized by France Football magazine last Monday, decided not to attend the ceremony in Paris after receiving information confirming that the Brazilian would not be the winner of the prestigious award.
According to the Cadena Ser website, those close to the Brazilian suspected since last Friday that he would not get the Ballon d’Or, and the club did not want to communicate any information to the player before the Clásico against Barcelona.
The royal team believed that if Vinicius did not win the award, according to France Football standards, his teammate Dani Carvajal should be the winner, which did not happen either.
Anton Mina, a journalist from Cadena Ser, reported that those close to Vinicius suspected since Friday, October 25, that the Brazilian would not be the winner of the Ballon d’Or, so they decided to contact the Madrid club.
Mina added, “Real Madrid was aware in advance of France Football’s decision, but they decided to remain silent, apparently, so as not to distract Vinicius’ focus before the match against Barcelona.”
He continued, “When information arrived that Rodri would be the winner of the award, Real Madrid kept quiet about the matter because they wanted to isolate Vinicius before El Clásico.”
The journalist continued his speech, “Last Monday morning there was a lot of tension at Real Madrid’s headquarters, and the Royal Club confirmed to the press several times that it would travel to Paris to attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony.”
The Ballon d’Or ceremony was held this year in partnership between the Amaury Group, which owns France Football and L’Equipe Media, and the European Football Association (UEFA), according to an agreement announced by UEFA in November 2023.
Real Madrid and Vinicius are seeking to turn the page on the Ballon d’Or award and the harsh loss in El Clásico to Barcelona, 4-0, when they face AC Milan on Tuesday, November 5, in the fourth round of the Champions League.
