Spanish media said Tuesday that Real Madrid had cheapened themselves by boycotting the Ballon d'Or ceremony, with even the normally loyal Marca weighing in while Spain's national coach admitted it was "not good for football".
European champions Real announced their decision to skip Monday night's gala ceremony in Paris just hours before it took place after apparently learning that their Brazilian striker Vinicius had not won the men's award.
"This masquerade is unworthy of the greatest club in the world," said Marca, which is normally staunchly pro-Real, in an editorial, adding that the club had ignored its own mantra that calls on its players "to shake hands even when you lose".
In fact Real Madrid won other awards, including men's team of the year, but there was no one to collect them.
It was a big night for Spanish football in general with Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri and Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati collecting the men's and women's awards, but the seats left empty by Real's delegation cast a shadow over the event.
"It's not good for football for an entity like Real Madrid not to be present at a gala of this dimension," said Spain's Euro 2024-winning coach Luis de la Fuente on the red carpet.
Alfredo Relano, editor-in-chief of Spanish sports daily AS, one of the 100 journalists who voted for the Ballon d'Or, lamented that "the first Ballon d'Or for a Spanish player since 1960, which was keenly awaited, did not provoke the state of collective excitement that was expected, but rather a controversial day".
Real Madrid are at loggerheads with UEFA over the proposed Super League, which the club support but which most other major European clubs have rejected, and they were quick to blame the European governing body for Vinicius missing out on the award.
"It is clear that Ballon d'Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid," they said on Monday. "And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."
Vincent Garcia, the editor-in-chief of France Football which organises the event, denied there was any anti-Vinicius or anti-Real Madrid conspiracy.
"UEFA has been involved in supporting the gala this year but it is France Football that awards the prize," he told L'Equipe. "There is no possibility of manipulation."
Garcia also offered a more rational explanation for Rodri, voted the best player at Euro 2024, taking the award.
"It was close," he said. "Vinicius certainly suffered from the presence of (fellow Madrid players) (Dani) Carvajal and (Jude) Bellingham in the top five, as that lost him some votes... which may have benefited Rodri."
Another potential explanation, raised by several specialist media, was the fact that voters were asked to consider the "fair play" aspect of a player's game.
This may have been detrimental to the occasionally temperamental and provocative Brazilian while benefiting the model image of Rodri.
Meanwhile, former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon also lamented the club's absence from the awards ceremony by telling Sky Sports: "We are the greatest club in the world but we have to behave properly."
