90min

Carlo Ancelotti delivers pointed response to Real Madrid's Ballon d'Or snub

  • Carlo Ancelotti showed his support for Vinicius Junior and Dani Carvajal who were overlooked for the Ballon d'Or
  • The Real Madrid boss was not at Monday's ceremony to receive his award for the Best Men's Coach of the Year
  • Ancelotti interestingly overlooked a Madrid star who finished above Carvajal in the rankings

By Grey Whitebloom

Carlo Ancelotti was not at the ceremony to collect his award
Carlo Ancelotti was not at the ceremony to collect his award / Catherine Steenkeste/GettyImages
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Carlo Ancelotti came out in support of Vinicius Junior and Dani Carvajal, two Real Madrid players who missed out on this year's Ballon d'Or, while accepting his prize as the Best Men's Coach of the Year.

Real Madrid's Italian manager was not at the award ceremony in Paris on Monday night, following the club's orders to boycott the event after they learned that Manchester City's Rodri would win the men's main prize.

Shortly after the ceremony's conclusion, Ancelotti wrote on social media: "I want to thank my family, my president, my club, my players and above all Vini and Carvajal."

Vinicius had been considered a nailed-on favourite to lift this year's major prize after directly contributing to 35 goals in 39 games for Real Madrid as the Spanish giants lifted domestic and continental titles.

Vinicius Junior, Carlos Ancelotti head coach
Vinicius Junior (left) has always been quick to celebrate with Carlo Ancelotti / Diego Souto/GettyImages

Ancelotti shared that view, saying just last week: "I think he’s going to win the Ballon d'Or because of what he has done last year, which helped us win the Champions League."

After Vinicius' entourage discovered that the Brazilian would miss out on the individual accolade, Real Madrid considered Dani Carvajal to be the next obvious choice. The right-back scored the opening goal in June's triumphant Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund and captained Spain to glory at Euro 2024.

The Real Madrid hierarchy was not impressed, telling The Athletic: "If the award criteria do not proclaim Vinicius Jr the winner, those same criteria should proclaim Carvajal the winner. As this has not been the case, it is obvious that the UEFA Ballon d'Or does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid is not where it is not respected."

Vinicius and Carvajal were two of the six Real Madrid players nominated for the Ballon d'Or - not including the recently retired Toni Kroos. Jude Bellingham actually finished above Carvajal in the final rankings, sneaking into third, but didn't get a shoutout from his manager.

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