Real Madrid unlikely to attend the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony – report | OneFootball

The ongoing standoff between Real Madrid and Ballon d’Or appears to have no end in sight.

The friction began forming last year when Vinicius Jr. was widely expected to win the Ballon d’Or, but at the end, it was revealed that Rodri was going to win the trophy.

This led to Real Madrid delegation completely skipping the event in Paris, with the club kickstarting a formal protest against the committee.

Real Madrid unlikely to send delegates this year

According to L’Equipe, the friction between Real Madrid and Ballon d’Or will continue this year as well, with the club unlikely to send any representatives this month.

The 2025 edition of the Ballon d’Or gala is scheduled on September 22 in Paris. But as things stand, no Real Madrid player or representative will be present in the event.

This comes shortly after recent reports that suggest that the standoff between the club and Ballon d’Or has continued even after recent peace attempts.

Real Madrid will skip the Ballon d’Or gala this year. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

Indeed, the Ballon d’Or committee has tried to make peace with Real Madrid, but the club intend to maintain their formal protest while raising objections over how scoring is done and how UEFA is now involved in the process.

It must be noted that three Real Madrid players in Vinicius, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham have been selected as nominees for the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

While Vinicius was the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or last year, the Brazilian is coming on the back of a poor season. Bellingham, too, wasn’t able to perform to his full potential last season.

Only player who is coming on the back of a strong season is Mbappe, who notably won the Golden Boot and the Pichichi trophy in his debut campaign for Real Madrid.

However, the likelihood of any Real Madrid player winning the prize remains slim, as the trophy is likely to be decided between two explosive wingers in Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal.