Ballon d’Or ceremony: Alexia Putellas makes history, Real Madrid men’s players take offense and boos for Mbappé? By Rune Gjerulff, Football Focus
Madrid, Spain – With the Ballon d’Or ceremony finally over, the celebrations have just begun. A few hours ago, Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates, who have been competing in this award for the past six years, were crowned the best in the world.
The ceremony’s most impressive moment occurred when a giant ball, measuring seven-feet in diameter, was brought over by an official and delivered to each of the players by a representative from the French Football Federation. This giant ball was previously used during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2015 Champions League final between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. At the end of the ceremony, the ball was put away.
This time around, the ball is a new creation from Nike with a green, metallic, and blue coating. When it arrived, several cameras panned over the ball – which was then surrounded by Madrid players, including Cristiano Ronaldo.
After Ronaldo and his teammates were officially presented with the Ballon d’Or trophy, the Madrid players took offense at what they saw as an insult to their squad and their players. Some of the more notable remarks came from the player chosen as the best in the world – Eden Hazard.
“I’m not against the ball,” he said, but added that he could not accept that the award could be given to a player who had scored only four goals for Real Madrid over the course of the season. One Real Madrid player, however, did not take this criticism to heart. Dani Alves, who plays for the club’s Under-23 team, was also in attendance. After the event, he told the press: “We are used to the ball, but I don’t like this ball any more. I think it’s a bit annoying and I really don’t like the fact that they used it in the ceremony.”
Real Madrid’s men are certainly not the only