“The club's self-victimization is unnecessary” - La Liga president Javier Tebas hits out at Real Madrid over Ballon d'Or boycott 

La Liga president Javier Tebas has condemned Real Madrid for not attending the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday night (October 28). Carlo Ancelotti's Los Blancos boycotted the event in support of Vinicius Junior, who missed out on the men's award.

Tebas slammed the reigning champions' decision and called it a lack of class. He said (via Madrid Zone):

"Real Madrid should've went to the Ballon d'Or gala, and not question France Football's system. The club's self-victimization is unnecessary and exaggerated. I don't know what they're doing. This lack of class of theirs, we're seeing it in Spain too."

Rodri was awarded the Ballon d'Or award after winning the Premier League with Manchester City and Euro 2024 with Spain. He lost just one game for club and country, a 2-1 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

For several months, Vinicius had been expected to prevail. He was at the forefront of Madrid's La Liga, UEFA Champions League, and Supercopa de Espana triumphs last season.

The European champions released a statement before the awards gala confirming their absence. It read:

"If the award criteria do not designate Vinicius as the winner, these same criteria should designate Carvajal as the winner. Since this has not been the case, it is clear that the UEFA Ballon d'Or does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid will not go where it is not respected."

Vinicius broke his silence amid the controversy over Real Madrid's absence. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he'd have to 'do it 10x' if he had to and that 'they're not ready.'

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Spain boss Luis de la Fuente on Real Madrid missing the Ballon d'Or awards gala

Luis de la Fuente at the Ballon d'Or ceremony (Image - Getty)

Luis de la Fuente, who guided Spain to European Championship glory in the summer, gave his thoughts on Madrid's boycott. He said it would have been nice for all of Spanish football to be represented (via Football Espana):

"Everyone makes the decisions they have to make and they are all respectable, but I would have liked all of world football and all of Spanish football to be represented. We are responsible for leaving it in the best possible place."

De la Fuente coached Rodri and his fellow Spanish teammates at Euro 2024. The City midfielder was an ever-present except for one game, for which he was suspended.

La Roja's tactician didn't pick up the Coach of the Year award, as that went to Madrid's Ancelotti. The Italian was absent, as was his team, who won the Team of the Year award.