There are few moments in recent football history when Real Madrid have appeared in such bad shape. Between multiple injuries to senior players, poor results, rumors of the possible departure of Carlo Ancelotti or even supposed internal quarrels around the Kylian Mbappé case, the Merengues have not had the calmest start to the season. The culmination of this rather complicated start was the Ballon d’Or ceremony organized on October 28, 2024 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. While all the predictions announced a crushing victory for Vinicius Júnior, it was ultimately the Manchester City midfielder, Rodri, who was elected to everyone’s surprise, which provoked the ire of all of Real Madrid. From managers to players, the entire Madrid club ultimately decided to skip the ceremony. And this Tuesday evening, at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar, the gala evening for the FIFA-The Best Awards took place. A way to make up for it for Casa Blanca which had cried scandal.
Especially since the symbol was strong during this ceremony since the fans’ vote was worth as much as that of the media, players or coaches. The world football organization released the voting data minutes after the winners were known. Despite Vinicius’ victory, it appears that Spanish midfielder Rodri is indeed the player who would have won the trophy if the voting system had been similar to that of the Ballon d’Or, namely left exclusively to journalists and selectors. The tacticians, in fact, gave 461 votes to the Spaniard and 438 to the Brazilian. Journalists awarded 541 to the Manchester City player and 538 to the Real Madrid player. However, the former Flamengo nugget dominated the popular vote. Supporters gave him 1,147,276 points compared to the 264,835 they gave Rodri and the 460,887 points they gave Jude Bellingham. It is in this sense that Casa Blanca responded to everyone after the Ballon d’Or fiasco in Paris a few weeks ago.
An evening punctuated by multiple successes
Losing is part of the game, but winning thanks to the vote of millions of football fans is the best answer. Left aside by his peers, often criticized in the various press and insulted in European stadiums, Vinicius Junior proved that he had won the hearts of supporters from the four corners of the world. The best proof of his undeniable talent: “today I write to the boy who saw so many idols lift this trophy… His time has come. Or rather, my time has come. Time to say… yes, I am the best player in the world and that’s why I fought hard. They tried and tried to invalidate me, to diminish me. But they are not prepared. No one will tell me who I should fight for, how I should behave. When I was in São Gonçalo, the system didn’t care about me. They almost swallowed me“, he said. But the Brazilian is not the only element of Real Madrid to have been rewarded, starting with the 11th of the year made up of five Madrid players (Vinicius, Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, Toni Kroos, Jude Bellingham).
Indeed, Carlo Ancelotti managed to win the trophy for best coach of the year, overtaking Pep Guardiola, Spain: “I see a lot of familiar faces here from players I’ve coached before. It is a great honor to receive this recognition from FIFA. Thanks to its president. I want to share this award with my club, with my president Florentino Pérez, who gave me the opportunity to be the coach of the best club in the world, and also with my players who, not always but sometimes, listen to me . Thank you to my family, to my wife for bringing me peace and love, which is so important in this profession. I have been in football for 48 years, and it has given me a lot of emotions, sometimes positive and sometimes negative, but that is the big reason why, after so many years, I am still alive in this profession“. Present in Doha, Real Madrid players will face Pachuca this evening, during the Intercontinental Cup, to send a second message and build confidence.
