Real Madrid has three players in the top 30 for the men's Ballon d'Or: Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappe. They have the third most nominees, behind PSG (9 players) and Barca (4).
For the women's Ballon d'Or, Real Madrid also has one representative, midfielder Caroline Weir. Center-back Dean Huijsen is nominated for the Kopa Trophy for best young male player, and forward Linda Caicedo is up for the best young female player award. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is also in the top 10 for the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper. In total, Real Madrid has 7 nominees across the Ballon d'Or categories.
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President Florentino Perez remains displeased with the Ballon d'Or award. Photo: COPE |
President Florentino Perez remains displeased with the Ballon d'Or award. Photo: COPE
While other clubs have shared posts from the official Ballon d'Or social media pages, Real Madrid has remained silent. Across their social media, website, and Real Madrid TV channel, the club has made no mention of the award.
Last year, Real Madrid canceled their plans to attend the 2024 Ballon d'Or gala in Paris, France, less than 24 hours before the ceremony. They reportedly received information that Vinicius would not win the Ballon d'Or, despite several newspapers predicting the Brazilian star would take home the prize. Ultimately, midfielder Rodri won the award, and Vinicius received the Silver Ball. As a result, the entire Real Madrid team did not attend the ceremony and did not post any information about it.
Vinicius wrote on social media, "If I need to, I will do 10 times more than this, and they're not ready for that,".
This year, Vinicius is nominated again, but he has almost no chance of winning. Real Madrid continues to ignore the award. Bellingham, Mbappe, and Courtois also have little chance of winning, as the team did not win any major titles last season.
Real Madrid may continue their absence from the 2025 Ballon d'Or gala, taking place at the Chatelet Theater in Paris on 22/9/2025. Forwards Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Raphinha, and Lamine Yamal (Barca) are considered the three frontrunners for this year's award.
Hoang An (COPE)
