The organizers of the Ballon d'Or award have confirmed that "no player or club" knows the identity of the winner of the award given by the French magazine "France Football", specializing in football, in response to Real Madrid's boycott of the ceremony scheduled for Monday evening in Paris, because it is convinced that its Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior will not win it.
A source in the organizing committee told Agence France-Presse that "all clubs and players are in the same boat", referring to the very strict confidentiality rules set for the 2024 edition.
Real Madrid, the Spanish League and Champions League champions, have decided to boycott the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony, scheduled for Monday evening, because it is convinced that its Brazilian star Vinicius Junior will not receive the award for best player, according to what was announced.
The Spanish capital giant said, "If the criteria for awarding the award did not choose Vinicius as the winner, the same criteria should choose Carvajal as the winner. Since this was not the case, it is clear that the Ballon d'Or did not respect Real Madrid and Real Madrid will not be present where it is not respected."
The organizers of the Ballon d'Or decided to innovate this year by keeping the identity of the winner secret until the end to avoid any leaks to the press. In previous years, the winner was personally informed a few days before the award was presented, and all the nominees were therefore invited to the ceremony.
Real Madrid's statement indicates that none of its three players, Vinicius Junior, Dani Carvajal and Englishman Jude Bellingham, who are widely considered to be the architects of the club's European triumph, will win the prestigious award, leaving the way open for Manchester City midfielder, Spanish Rodri, to win it.
Rodri, who won the Euro 2024 title with "La Roja", was named the best player in the continental tournament by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and won the English Premier League with his team.
The Ballon d'Or is awarded after a vote by a jury made up of journalists representing the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.
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