The Spanish club's position was called “incomprehensible”.
The organizers of the 2024 Ballon d'Or commented on the decision of Real Madrid to boycott the ceremony, which will take place on October 28 is taking place at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris.
“Real's position is unclear,” AS quotes the organizers, citing EFE. They also claim that the club was not informed of the voting results.
Earlier, the media reported that none of Real's representatives would attend the ceremony because the team's forward Vinicius Junior would not receive the main prize.
According to AS, the winner of the Golden Ball will be Spanish midfielder for Manchester City Rodri.
The Golden Ball ceremony began at 20:00 Kyiv time.
In addition to the prize for the best footballer in the world, awards will also be presented in a number of other nominations. Thus, Ukrainian goalkeeper of Real Madrid Andriy Lunin was among the contenders for the title of the best goalkeeper of 2024.
Recall that the current holder of the Golden Ball is the forward of Inter Miami and the Argentina national team Lionel Messi.
It is Messi who holds the absolute record for the number of Golden Balls won – he received this prize eight times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023).
The closest pursuer of the Argentine is the forward of Al-Nasr and the Portuguese national team Cristiano Ronaldo, who was recognized as the best footballer in the world five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).