A major debate took place late last year when Spanish midfielder Rodri won the Ballon d’Or. Real Madrid protested the decision, refusing to send a delegation to the award ceremony in Paris. The reason? For weeks leading up to the event, speculation had been swirling that Vinicius Junior was the rightful winner—the best player of the 2023/24 season.Manchester City banner in response to Vini Jr and Real Madrid’s behaviour when Rodri won the Balon D’or.“Stop crying your heart out…” 👏😭 pic.twitter.com/FxZJaH2S9T— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) February 11, 2025 Madrid believed their star had been unfairly overlooked, and many media outlets, as well as some of football’s biggest names, also disagreed with L’Equipe’s choice. One of those stars, Kylian Mbappe, recently shared his thoughts on the matter in an interview with Le Parisien, and his words suggest he, too, was unconvinced by last year’s winner.”What does the Ballon d’Or even mean? Who is the Ballon d’Or winner for you? Is it really Rodri? I thought the award would go to Vini. If I had told you four months ago that Rodri would win it, you would have said: ‘What the hell are you talking about?’”🚨 Kylian Mbappé: “Ballon d’Or? What’s a Ballon d’Or player? Rodri is he a Ballon d’Or player for you? I thought the Ballon d’Or would go to Vini Jr., but in the end it went to Rodri.If I told you that 3 months ago, you’d have said, “What the hell are you talking about?”… pic.twitter.com/GWELIQVgq5— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) March 17, 2025 The topic came up after the journalist pointed out that there is no clear favorite for this season’s award. Mbappe emphasized the need for greater transparency and fairness in the selection process.”Right now, it’s impossible to predict the winner. The only thing that’s certain is that no one should be ruled out. But yes, everyone should have an equal chance to win—maybe even goalkeepers.”No, that’s not Houdini and Copperfield, but Yamal and RaphinhaMany believe the top contenders for the 2025 Ballon d’Or are Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Raphinha, and Lamine Yamal.It is clear that much will depend on how the Champions League season concludes…##NAJAVA_MECA_8789732##
