BALLON D’OR were forced into an awkward moment as Real Madrid failed to collect their award.
The Spanish giants were named Club of the Year after winning LaLiga and the Champions League.
But not a single club representative was present as Real Madrid boycotted the awards ceremony, with an awkward silence in the room as host Didier Drogba read out their name as winners.
He added: “Congratulations to them,” before moving on swiftly.
Real Madrid appear to have boycotted the show following reports Vinicius Jr would not be scooping the top prize.
The winger was amongst the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or following an impressive campaign in which he scored 24 goals and registered 11 assists.
Reports claim the Brazilian has been pipped to first place by Manchester City star Rodri.
So Vinicius Jr will not even be in attendance to see his rival walk on stage to collect the prize, nor will any of his team-mates or coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Real Madrid President Florentino Perez is reportedly furious Vinicius has been overlooked.
The club also believe they are “not respected” – convinced that if not Vinicius Jr, then Dani Carvajal should win the award.
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Another Real star Jude Bellingham is expected to finish third in the voting.
A Real Madrid player last won the Ballon d’Or in 2022 when Karim Benzema was named the world’s best player.
