Real Madrid president reopens Ballon d’Or feud and slams voting system

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has reopened the debate over Rodri's Ballon d'Or 2024 win by insisting that the award should have been won by one of his players.

Vinicius Junior was many people's favourite to win the award, owing to an outstanding year that saw him win a La Liga and Champions League double, but news broke on the day of the ceremony that the Brazilian would be overlooked in favour of Rodri.

The 28-year-old became the first defensive midfielder to win the Ballon d'Or, following a season in which he won the Premier League with Manchester City and Euro 2024 with Spain, and finished just 41 voting points ahead of Vinicius.

Rodri himself has publicly declared that he'd have picked Dani Carvajal to win the award over Vinicius, had he not been in the running, while a number of other journalists from around the world - who help decide who wins the Ballon d'Or - didn't even vote the Brazilian into their top ten.

That astonished Perez, who vented in a speech at the club's annual assembly that Rodri's win had come 12 months too late and that the current voting system is not fit for purpose.

"It was an event that UEFA organised for the first time in history with France Football and L'Équipe," Perez said, quoted by The Athletic's Mario Cortegana.

"Rodri is a great player, he's from Madrid, and he has our affection. He deserved a Ballon d'Or, but not this one. He deserved it the year before. This year, the Ballon d'Or should have gone to a Real Madrid player: Vinicius Jr, or our captain Dani Carvajal, or even Jude Bellingham.

"Some of [the voters] didn't even include Vinicius in the top 10. Can anyone understand journalists not thinking Vinicius Jr is one of the best in the world? Nobody knows who [the journalists] are ... The Ballon d'Or should be independently organized, and it should be in the hands of people who are recognized."

Perez also outlined plans for a potential restructuring of Real Madrid's ownership, revealing that members will be able to vote on whether changes are needed in order to guarantee financial independence for the club in the coming years.

"We're working on defending ourselves on attacks on our financial wealth," Perez declared. "Our club should have a structure which protects us as an institution. We'll do everything necessary so that the club belongs to its members, so that nobody can take away our financial assets.

"I can confirm that we'll bring a corporate reorganisation proposal to an assembly, which guarantees members are real owners of our club. They wanted to take away our income to give it to La Liga."

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