In 2024, Rodri of Manchester City lifted the Ballon d'Or award for the best men's player of the year. However, everybody knows that it was a daylight robbery, and the true winner of the award should have been Vinícius Júnior.
Real Madrid didn't hide their feelings. Instead, they publicized their outrage towards France Football, the presenters of the Ballon d'Or award, and boycotted the ceremony. As far as Real Madrid was concerned, there was no reason to be present, despite Carlo Ancelotti winning an award.
And this animosity hasn't cooled off. Real Madrid still feels disrespected by France Football, and there is even a consideration about cutting ties altogether.
This got us thinking, Vinícius Júnior's snub was obviously bad. He deserved to win the Ballon d'Or, no questions asked. However, there was a far worse snub for a different award, the FIFA Puskás award, just a few years prior.
Vinícius Júnior's Ballon d'Or drama wasn't Real Madrid's biggest snub
Gareth Bale scored an overhead kick in a Champions League final, one of the best goals the competition has ever seen, but did not win the Puskás award.
Instead, the Puskás award for that year was given to Mohamed Salah for the most routine goal that you can watch every single week in La Liga. But he scored that goal in the Premier League, so obviously he deserves the Puskás award, right?
Wrong. Bale's goal was better than Salah's by a country mile.
Bale even publicly spoke out on the exclusion, claiming that Salah winning the Puskás award that way diminished how people would view the award.
In his own words, Bale said: “Yeah, I was surprised by [Salah winning the Puskás award], to be honest. What can you say? It makes the award look a little diminished, although it was obviously a great goal by Salah."
In truth, the Ballon d'Or is slowly becoming a diminishing award. Some would even argue it's already past the point of no return. The obvious preference for midfielders and attackers aside, the award is slowly becoming about which player plays for the best team, rather than who is really the best player in the world.
Anyway, ranting to one side, the moral of the story is that individual awards have a place in soccer. However, that place means a tiny amount in comparison to the enjoyment that fans feel when they watch individual players.