“I don’t think it was a wrong decision” - Carlo Ancelotti breaks silence on why Real Madrid refused to attend 2024 Ballon d’Or gala 

Carlo Ancelotti has defended Real Madrid's decision to skip the Ballon d'Or gala in 2024. He believes that Vinicius Jr deserved the award last year, while Rodri should have won it in 2023.

Ahead of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 playoff clash with Manchester City on February 11, Ancelotti was quizzed if he regretted the Ballon d'Or gala snub. He defended the club's decision to skip the trip to Paris and stated that it was needed to send a statement. He said (via Madrid Xtra):

"Ballon d’Or gala? I don't think it was a wrong decision (not to attend). We didn't attend because we thought Vinicius was the winner of the Ballon d'Or. Nothing against Rodri, I think he should have won it the year before."

Real Madrid were furious when they found out that Rodri was winning the Ballon d'Or last year and skipped the gala with just hours left. None of the officials from the Spanish club attended the gala, and it led to widespread criticism.

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Real Madrid were called a 'small club' by Former France manager Raymond Domenech

Former France manager Raymond Domenech spoke to Goal.pl via DAZN and stated that Real Madrid had turned into a small club by snubbing the Ballon d'Or gala. He believed that they showed a lack of respect for football and said:

"Real is said, and Real itself wants to be said, that it is a big club. Meanwhile, it turned out that it is a small club. Very small! What Real did is absolutely pathetic. They showed a lack of respect for football, for the other participants in the gala, for the winners. It is something downright repulsive.

"How is it possible that they demanded information about who would win when the results were still secret, hidden? To pressure the organisers to either tell us that ours won or we won't come? That is something incredible! Especially since no one harassed them in these elections."

He added:

"Real was voted the best men's team of the year, Kylian Mbappe was the top scorer with Kane, Carlo Ancelotti the coach... But no, it wasn't enough for them, they demanded the certainty that Vinicius had won. Horrible, I repeat horrible behaviour from a club that calls itself great.

"Someone summed them up well when he said something like: 'Real doesn't start a match until it knows what the result will be.' They need to understand that the whole world of football doesn't revolve around them. Real has a white shirt, but yesterday in my opinion, that shirt was badly stained."

Vinicius Jr was named in the Top 30 last year and finished second, while Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal finished third and fourth respectively. Former Real Madrid star Toni Kroos also finished eighth in the race.