The Ballon d’Or ceremony is, for many, the pinnacle of individual recognition in football, a glamorous event where the best players and coaches are celebrated before a global audience. Winning the coveted golden ball is a career-defining objective for many athletes. However, Real Madrid, one of the world’s most successful and influential football clubs, has seemingly adopted a policy of boycotting the event, a decision heavily influenced by its powerful president, Florentino Perez.
The football world was taken aback last year when Real Madrid, at the eleventh hour and with a delegation of 50 staff members ready to travel, decided to abstain from attending the ceremony. This decision reportedly stemmed from the knowledge that none of their nominated players, including stars like Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham (who ultimately finished second and third), would win the coveted men’s award, which was eventually claimed by Manchester City’s Rodri.
The absence of Real Madrid was particularly awkward considering Carlo Ancelotti, their coach at the time, was to receive the Johan Cruyff trophy for being named the best men’s coach of 2024. Furthermore, no representative from the club was present to accept the award for Club of the Year. Ancelotti, who has since been replaced by Xabi Alonso, only recently received his trophy. Neither award was acknowledged by the club through official channels.
This year, the situation remains unchanged. Real Madrid’s male players will once again be absent from the prestigious event in Paris, despite Vinicius Jr, Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappe being nominated for the main men’s prize. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is a contender for the Yashin Trophy, awarded to the best goalkeeper, and young centre-back Dean Huijsen is in the running for the Kopa Trophy, recognizing the world’s best under-21 player.
To understand the rationale behind this apparent boycott, The Athletic conducted extensive interviews with over two dozen individuals, including current and former Real Madrid staff, sources close to current and former players and coaches, and industry figures who have interacted directly with the club during Perez’s two tenures as president. All sources requested anonymity to speak candidly about the inner workings of the Bernabeu.
While virtually every other top European football club will send representatives to the glitzy gala at the Theatre du Chatelet, regardless of their players’ chances of winning, the Ballon d’Or seems to be a non-entity within the Real Madrid universe. The award has not been mentioned on any of the club’s official media platforms. According to sources, this stance is solely attributable to Perez’s decision.
During his two spells as president (2000-2006 and 2009-present), Perez, now 78, has consolidated power to an extent that all major decisions rest solely with him. "Florentino controls everything: football matters, communication, business, every department of the club. He is over them all," one source with extensive dealings with Real Madrid over the past decade explained.
This stance on the Ballon d’Or has created difficulties for club staff whose responsibilities include promoting Real Madrid and engaging with sponsors and commercial partners. The Ballon d’Or, as the most prestigious individual award ceremony in football, offers a unique opportunity to enhance the club’s image and expand its fanbase. The abrupt boycott was perceived by many within the club as a public relations blunder.
"A lot of people at the club, probably the majority, thought it was a terrible decision, particularly the timing of it and the way it was communicated," a staff source stated. "It generated a lot of frustration."
Many within the Bernabeu view this as another manifestation of the "siege mentality" fostered by Perez’s presidency. Multiple sources revealed that Perez believes Spanish society is divided into those who support Real Madrid and those who actively oppose it. One source summarized this sentiment: "Florentino really believes that half of Spain are Madrid fans and the other half are anti-Madridistas."
UEFA, along with its president, Aleksander Ceferin, has reportedly been added to the list of "anti-Madridistas" following the swift collapse of Perez’s breakaway European Super League project in April 2021. Sources familiar with Perez’s thinking suggest that he believes UEFA influenced the decision not to award a Madrid player last year’s prize as a direct consequence of the club’s continued pursuit of the Super League project, despite the fact that the Ballon d’Or is decided by a vote of 100 independent journalists.
Many long-serving Real Madrid staff, particularly in the communications department, believe that much of the world is actively conspiring against the club. This perspective helps explain the aggressive and often hostile tone adopted by Real Madrid TV (RMTV) towards perceived enemies of the club, such as Spanish referees or Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
While Perez and the club hierarchy do not directly script content for RMTV, all staff members understand the editorial line they are expected to take against anyone deemed an "anti-Madridista." A former club employee stated that the TV station, which is broadcast free-to-air in Spain and available globally online, is crucial to Perez "for political messaging reasons."
Perez’s control over messaging, stemming from his earlier political aspirations before becoming a successful businessman, has facilitated changes to Real Madrid’s club statutes that severely limit potential challengers to his presidency. It has also sustained support for the European Super League project and fueled ongoing battles with La Liga’s president, Javier Tebas, over money and power.
Controversies and outrage can also serve to distract fans during periods of poor team performance. Last year’s Ballon d’Or boycott occurred just hours after Barcelona humiliated Real Madrid in a 4-0 defeat at the Bernabeu. Similarly, the club’s most vociferous criticism of referees erupted in early 2025, coinciding with a season in which the team struggled and ultimately failed to win any major trophies.
"We’re against everyone and everything," one RMTV pundit declared on air immediately after last year’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona. Real Madrid’s leadership even considered boycotting that game after match referees expressed concern over videos accusing them of bias that were broadcast in the days leading up to the match.
Barcelona won the trophy, but instead of analyzing another Clasico defeat, Real Madrid fans were fed the narrative that the club’s hierarchy was protecting them from external attacks.
When the 2025 Ballon d’Or nominees were announced in early August, Real Madrid did not acknowledge the news on their website or social media channels.
On the women’s side of the club, Scotland international Caroline Weir is among the nominees and is expected to attend the ceremony, but her achievement has not been publicly celebrated by Real Madrid. Linda Caicedo’s nomination for the under-21 award has also gone unacknowledged.
Within the club, there is an understanding that Perez’s views on UEFA and France Football, the joint organizers of the prize, remain unchanged. Most staff members, and sources close to the nominated men’s team players, had long accepted that they would not be attending the ceremony.
While no Real Madrid player is likely to win the main men’s award this year, even a nomination represents a significant opportunity for players, providing global exposure and individual recognition, which is highly valued by top athletes.
"I’ve no opinion about that at all," was the ironic and resigned response from a source close to a Real Madrid player.
Last week, a Real Madrid club source suggested that the men’s players would find it difficult to travel to Paris due to a Tuesday night kick-off (at 9:30 pm local time) against Levante the following day.
Another irony is that the Ballon d’Or was previously crucial to Perez’s project at Real Madrid. Many of the "galactico" signings of his first presidency were winners of the individual men’s award, including Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Michael Owen, and Ronaldo. During his second spell, Real Madrid proudly celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017), Luka Modric (2018), and Karim Benzema (2022) winning the prize.
"They should give a Ballon d’Or for the best president, too," Perez joked on Spanish radio station Cadena Ser while attending the 2017 ceremony. Few within the Bernabeu find humor in the club’s relationship with the award today.
Most sources consulted for this article asserted that the team’s performance on the pitch is unaffected by whether players attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony or whether RMTV attacks referees. Real Madrid has won 37 trophies over the 22 completed seasons of Perez’s two presidencies, and revenues have grown to almost €1.2 billion (£1 billion; $1.4 billion) during 2024-25, the highest in world football.
However, there are costs associated with the constant battles against perceived enemies. Outside the Madridista bubble, the club’s image is being damaged. Those who ultimately suffer include players, coaches, staff, and everyone who must live and work in such an environment of tension and paranoia.
"That noise does not help, being against the world," the agent of a former Real Madrid player commented.
"A club like Madrid cannot be fighting everyone: La Liga, UEFA, France Football. Madrid is very big, but the policy of the club – the referees, the videos – I really cannot understand. You can’t always be fighting against everyone."