August 8, 2025: Real Madrid has not said anything about the nominees for the 2025 Ballon d’Or. This is a planned move that shows how the club’s relationship with UEFA, the award’s co-organizing body, is getting worse. The club has a lot of nominees in several categories, such Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and Vinícius Jr. for the men’s Ballon d’Or. However, the fact that there hasn’t been any official reaction or congrats says a lot.
The tension started in 2024, when Vinícius Jr. didn’t win the top individual award. Instead, Manchester City’s Rodrigo Hernández won it. People who work for Real Madrid think that the decision was made for political reasons, as a direct response from UEFA to the club’s strong backing for the Super League idea. The club was so angry that they didn’t go to last year’s event at all. They might do the same thing for the 2025 gala on September 22.
The club is even more upset since Fede Valverde was not nominated, even though he had a great season (24/25). The club’s leaders think that the “best reaction is not to react at all” to what they see as a defective and prejudiced process, just like they did last year.
Real Madrid is still working on getting ready for the 25/26 preseason, even if Dean Huijsen and Linda Caicedo are up for the Kopa Trophies and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is a strong candidate for the Yashin Trophy. The club’s continued silence about the prestigious accolades is a clear evidence that the divide between the Spanish giants and the regulatory body of European football is only getting worse.