Real Madrid's behaviour is DEVALUING & PETTY 😲 - Shaka Hislop on not attending Ballon d'Or | ESPN FC

Mario Melchiot, Alex Kirkland, Mark Ogden, Shaka Hislop and Ale Moreno join Dan Thomas on ESPN FC to react to Manchester City's Rodri winning the 2024 Men's Ballon d'Or, and debate the validity of Real Madrid skipping the event after many were certain Vinicius Jr. would win.

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[kbonh]

The real robbery was Xabi Alonso not winning coach of the year

[goober]

What's funny to me is people always saying the Ballon D'or doesn't matter, but then this happens. Like even more hypocritically, kroos says it's a meaningless trophy but then posts about saying vini is the best. If it doesn't matter, it shouldn't matter who wins because its meaningless.

[eddiechea]

The same fan base that shouted racial insults to 17 year old Larmine Yamal over the weekend. The kid who was instrumental in helping Spain win the Euros.

[Sainno]

Madrid can cry all they want. If Modric can win it with 4 goals and 12 assists then Rodri has the right to win it with double that goal tally. Nobody said Vini was winning it, it was all just speculations

[martinrivera]

Man City didn’t behave this way last year when arguably Haaland deserved it more than Messi… then you have petty Real Madrid when Rodri truly deserved it more than Vini.

Rodri is class. In and out of the pitch. Vini’s gonna fizzle out from here on out.

[dgotv]

it's embarrassing what's happening with the ballon d'or

[MrChriiss..]

Any year Madrid wins it, everyone else should boycott the show

[joepzenz]

This trophy lost its value ever since Lewandowski was robbed of it and was not awarded what was rightly his. It’s been a joke since then, and a popularity contest and also when Haaland was robbed lol. They just need to come out and say what matters, is it how you perform in international tournaments (6-8 games) or the entire season. The problem everyone has is there is no consistency and they seem to pick and choose what matters year to year.

[felipea.]

Rodri didnt even was nomited for the best of the Premier League.

[abhiseksingh]

26 goals and 11 assist ... with no performance for his country... does nt make you deserve ballon dor. Cry baby of the football.

[QuentinMajor]

Vinicius being loud on social media 😭. Where was this fight when you got trounced 4-0 by your rivals? 😂

[jozc]

I was fully expecting Vini to win the ballon d'or this year. That was until he went to brazil. His performances for the national team were so bad thats pretty much all i can remember about last season.

[tebogo]

I thought Ballon d'Or is a individual award, not club award. Disgraceful!

[thusharalakshan]

The Ballon d'Or is awarded based on criteria set by France Football, recognising the player with the best individual and team performance, exceptional skill, and strong influence and sportsmanship on and off the field over the past year.

Ultimately, the Ballon d'Or winner is decided by votes from journalists worldwide. To earn these votes, you must show respect and maintain proper behaviour on and off the pitch. The award symbolizes greatness beyond just numbers and statistics. If it were solely about stats, players like Lev Yashin, Franz Beckenbauer, and Fabio Cannavaro might not have won it in the past.

While Vinicius Jr. has impressive stats and trophies, his conduct and sportsmanship are a different matter. His behaviour of provoking rival fans with disrespectful actions and trash-talking often leads to playing the victim card after facing backlash with racist chants etc. Furthermore, his frequent outbursts toward referees go unpunished, raising questions about fairness.

To seriously contend for awards like the Ballon d'Or, Vinicius must work on his character. Additionally, excelling for Brazil would bolster his case, as international performance significantly influences votes for this prestigious award.

[FloydsHighHeels]

Madrid fans are gloryhunters who think they deserve everything and when they don’t get it they cry

[mauropetrides]

ALE is literally the worst sports commentator ive ever watched. Vini is a victim of racism in almost every la liga game, lost to a player who wasn't the best player in the Premier league and on Spain and on his own team. And he wants him to attend the event and give Rodri his flowers when he was clearly the best player in the world. Like what ???

[walidelmasri]

Cancel Real Madrid and their players from any ballondor awards for doing this.

[hankstorm]

how did they expect a ratty unlikable character like vinicious win a popularity vote?
and then throw this tantrum... the nerves on the madrid maffia is really something.

[obslam]

I have a distinct hatred for Real Madrid. I'm not surprised in the slightest that they would behave like this.

[YeahhBoyyy-vy]

Madrid always feels it’s unfair unless they win. It’s the same pettiness we saw with Ronaldo when Messi won FIFA’s Best Player award. It’s just constant complaints—everything is against them, even though they get the most penalties awarded and they buy all the best players in the world. Whole La Liga bends to their will and it’s still unfair.