'Can anyone understand..' Florentino Perez takes a dig at the journalists from 4 countries for not voting for Vinicius Junior

Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid, highlighted his belief that Spanish midfielder Rodri Hernández is deserving of a Ballon d'Or, although he indicated that 2024 was not the year. He articulated his surprise that no player from Madrid has yet received this prestigious award. 

He asserted that the Ballon d'Or must have gone to a Real Madrid player, irrespective of the criteria used.

Whether it's Vinícius, who had garnered massive global support and was voted as the favourite by 41% in a poll by L'Equipe, or the recognition should have gone to captain Dani Carvajal, given Spain's triumph, or even Jude Bellingham, who had a stellar season and reached the European Cup final.

"The truth is that it's very hard to explain why a Real Madrid player didn't win. However, certain surprising things have occurred that I want to share. For instance, it is surprising that in UEFA's statement, let’s not forget that for the first time the awards are in partnership with the Amaury Group, the owners of France Football and L'Equipe. It explicitly states that UEFA's entry would not have any impact and that the voting system would remain unchanged and independent," Perez said.

The club's president confirmed that the award underwent significant changes in its voting system. The requirement for players that must be voted for has been increased from 5 to 10, and the points each journalist can assign to a single player has been more than doubled from 6 to 15. 

It was also quite startling that, despite football being the only truly global sport, journalists from populous countries like India, which has a staggering 1.5 billion people, were excluded from this year's Ballon d'Or voting. In contrast, journalists from nations with populations of fewer than one million participated for the first time this year.

Perez slams the journalists from Namibia, Uganda, Albania and Finland

He asserted that if not for the votes from journalists in just four countries—Namibia, Uganda, Albania, and Finland—Vinícius would have undoubtedly won the Ballon d'or. However, it’s notable that some of these countries didn't even include him in their top 10 selections.

"Without the impact of votes from journalists from just four countries—Namibia, Uganda, Albania, and Finland—Vinícius would have won the Ballon d'Or. Yet from these four countries, some don’t even include Vinícius in their top 10, giving him not a single point. Can anyone understand that there are journalists who consider Vinícius not to be one of the best in the world and do not give him even one vote?" Perez added.

Pérez has called on the organizers of the Ballon d'Or to provide clarity regarding the criteria by which journalists, many of whom are not widely recognized, operate. He challenged France Football and L'Equipe, the same entities that created the European Cup alongside Madrid in the 1950s despite UEFA's opposition, questioning the wisdom of partnering with UEFA now, at a critical time when European clubs are striving for their autonomy and survival.