On Monday night, the Ballon d’Or ceremony is set to take place in Paris. The annual event is one where the best footballers in the world congregate at the Theatre du Chatelet to acknowledge and celebrate the best players in the world for that year.
However, this year’s ceremony has become more contentious than in previous years.
Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr., who was hotly tipped to win the award, has now boycotted the ceremony after sources allegedly revealed that Manchester City midfielder Rodri was going to be named the winner of the award. Midfielder Jude Bellingham, also of Real Madrid and considered a big contender for the award, will also not attend. In fact, the Spanish club will not send “even one representative” to the ceremony, in what they view as a “disrespect” to the club and its players.
Historically, there is no precedence of entire clubs or players boycotting the ceremony because they were not named the winner. In 2022, Robert Lewandowski was slightly edged out on the Ballon d’Or by Lionel Messi — which prompted backlash from fans. Erling Halaand was also hotly tipped to win in 2023, only to also lose out to Lionel Messi, despite a remarkable season. However, both Lewandowski and Halaand attended their respective ceremonies.
In the last 15 years, the award has been dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have won five and eight awards respectively.
Vinicius Jr. scored 21 goals in all competitions last season — 15 in La Liga and 6 in the Champions League — including a goal in the Champions League final vs. Borussia Dortmund, which saw them ultimately lift the European cup for the sixth time in ten years. Due to this, the feeling in Madrid was that the Brazilian was guaranteed for the Ballon d’Or.
Rodri, meanwhile, was a key figure behind the success of Manchester City’s 2023/24 season, which included a EURO 2024 victory with Spain where he was named one of the most important players of the tournament.
