The Ballon d’Or ceremony got underway on Monday in the absence of Real Madrid stars Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham after the Spanish club said it would boycott over a perceived snub of its players.The seven players from the Madrid contingent that were shortlisted for the individual award, including Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger, Fede Valverde and the retired Toni Kroos, did not show up to walk the red carpet at Paris’ Chatelet Theatre before the ceremony began.For this year’s edition, the organisers had decided to keep the winner’s identity secret until the on-stage announcement.With the absence of the Madrid’s double-winning stars, especially that of the bookmakers’ favourite Vinicius, many are now tipping Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri to win the award.However, the Ballon d’Or organisers told AFP that “no player or club” knows in advance who will win the award.The Ballon d’Or is awarded by a jury of journalists representing the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings.You must be logged in to post a comment.Why are you flagging this comment?I disagree with this userTargeted harassment - posted harassing comments or discussions targeting me, or encouraged others to do soSpam - posted spam comments or discussionsInappropriate profile - profile contains inappropriate images or textThreatening content - posted directly threatening contentPrivate information - posted someone else's personally identifiable informationBefore flagging, please keep in mind that Disqus does not moderate communities.
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